Şehrengizler ve Âyîne-i Hubân-ı Bursa : Bursa şehrengizlerinde güzeller

Abstract

This study focuses on the description of beauties in Şehr-engiz-i Brusa of Lâmi’i Çelebi, Şehr-engiz-i Bursa of İshak Çelebi, Şehr-engiz-i Bursa of Çalıkzâde Mehmed Mânî, Şehr-engiz-i Cilve-resâ and Âyîne-i Hûbân-ı Brusa of İsmail Beliğ. The gender and the social relations of beloved in Ottoman poetry are one of the most controversial issues of this literary tradition. The fact that the beloved described in poems refers either implicitly or explicitly to a young boy adds a “homoerotic” dimension to them, which lays the groundwork for most important discussions. In this thesis, I analyzed why professional “mahbûb”s / boys, who are included in the works as “beloveds”, are more visible in şehrengiz (citydisturber) and how they are described. Through the descriptions in şehrengizes (citydisturber)of these professional mahbûbs, most of whom are craftsmen in the bazaar, it is examined whether metaphors used for the description of each beauty of a different profession constitutes a peculiar pattern. These poems, which are generally written in the form of mesnevi, have a special and significant role in Ottoman literature not only due to its genre, but also due to scenes from social life for having esnaf as theme. How these beauties, who are also real persons, are contextualized in a literary work, and the indications on Ottoman social life, which are obtained via the descriptions of these beauties, are discussed.