Masters and Students in Tanzimat Poetry

A classical literature that lasted for six hundred years ended in the 19th century and a new literature developed under the influence of the West was formed in this period. The chain of a master-student, who continued unabated for almost a century, played an important role in the formation of new poetry, new genres, and ideas and emotions operating in the background of them. The first ring of the chain was Şinasi, which started its literary activities under the shadow of the mighty pashas of the period and was educated in Europe. Subsequent writers walked the new path he has opened. Namık Kemal was the writer who revolved around all the literary movements of the period and gave a permanent shape to the new literature extending towards the Republic; apart from Şinasi, it has been under the influence of mystical and classical influences and has been fed from a very rich source. Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem and Abdülhak Hamid started their literary activities as the students of Namık Kemal, but they followed different routes at certain points and prepared Edebiyat-ı Cedide movement. Against the purpose of literature that should be beneficial to society and human beings by Namik Kemal, Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem's saying that everything that is beautiful from monad to the sun can be the subject of poetry has been an important breaking point in the history of New Turkish Literature. The first mature works of the New Literature were published by Servet-i Fünun journal and followed by Recaizade. This new understanding of poetry date back to the Republic with Ahmet Haşim. In this article, these chain rings, which constitute a new literature, are introduced and the examples show how successors follow their predecessors and where they dissociate.

Keywords

Modern Turkish Literature, Tanzimat Literature, Namık Kemal, Şinasi, Abdülhak Hamid, Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem