Türkiye'de deneme ve eleştirinin gelişiminde Orhan Burian'ın yeri

Abstract

Orhan Burian (1914-1953) was a prominent figure in Turkish culture and literature with his essays, critical writings, reviews, and translations. Although Burian is not well-known by contemporary readers, he has had an important place in the development of the Turkish essay and criticism especially with his objective style of writing. This thesis entitled “Orhan Burian’s Place in the Development of Essay and Criticism in Turkey” aims to assess the place of Burian in Turkish essay and criticism by examining his writings collected in his book titled Denemeler Eleştiriler (1964) and his articles published in such periodicals as Belleten, Devlet Tiyatrosu, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, Söz, Tercüme, Ufuklar, Ülkü, and Yücel. The critical writings of Orhan Burian can be grouped into two as “literary” and “cultural”. This classification also applies for Burian as a critic. In the thesis, as I examine Burian’s cultural criticism, I have tried to demonstrate his way of proposing concrete solutions to concrete problems in his works along with his non-dogmatic and rational manner as an intellectual. The essay as a literary genre has historically developed along two main roads: the “objective essay” in the manner of Bacon and the “subjective essay” in the manner of Montaigne. Burian has preferred the objective style and a critical way of thinking in his essays as well. In this thesis, it has been argued that Orhan Burian is an exceptional figure among his contemporaries with his objective style of writing in his essays as well as in his critical writings. Although he was somewhat overlooked by the readers of his time, Burian has had a leading role in the development of scientific-objective criticism in Turkey.