Osmanlı Devleti’nde saray düğünleri veya şenlikler üzerine padişahın görevlendirdiği kimselerce hazırlanan sûrnâmeler 16. yüzyılda bağımsız bir edebî tür olarak ortaya çıkmıştır. Mensur sûrnâmelerin dili genellikle çok ağır ve süslü bulunur. 18. yüzyılda Sultan III. Ahmet’in şehzadelerinin sünnet düğününü anlatan Vehbî’nin Sûrnâme’si bu ağır ve süslü dili örneklemesi bakımından dikkate değerdir. Bizzat padişah tarafından görevlendirilen şairin veya yazarın, beğenilerini göz önünde tuttuğu kitle toplumun en yüksek makamını işaret eder. Patronaj ve ait olunan zümrenin kısıtlamaları, eser sipariş üzerine yazılmışsa, sipariş edenin istekleri ve muhatabının anlama ve beğenme seviyesine uygunluk gibi gerekçelerle değişim gösteren Osmanlı nesir dilinde işlevsel metinlerle, hüner sergileme amaçlı yazınsal metinler arasındaki farkı belirleyebilmek için çeşitli dil yapılarına bakılmalıdır. Hayati Develi, üst anlatı dilinin belirleyicisi olan dil özelliklerinin tespiti için bir yöntem önermiştir. Buradan yola çıkılan çalışmada Vehbî’nin Sûrnâme’sinden seçilen bir bölümün dil özellikleri, Hayati Develi’nin hitap edilen kitleye bağlı olarak değişen dil kullanımı hakkındaki görüşleri doğrultusunda değerlendirilmiştir. Sûrnâme-i Vehbî’nin seçilen bölümü üzerindeki incelemede eserin yazınsal, hüner gösterme maksatlı olduğu, bu bakımdan da üst yazı dilinin özelliklerini gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. Yine bu çalışmayla yazınsallığı belirleyen en önemli öğe olan mecazların kullanımının betimlenen zümrelere bağlı olarak yoğunlaştığı veya seyreldiği görülmüştür. Yani Hayati Develi’nin hüner göstermeye bağlı yazınsal dilin toplumsal zümre ve tabakalarıyla olan ilişkisi seçilen metinde doğrulanmış ve Sûrnâme-i Vehbî’de üst yazı dilini kuran yapının, zümrelere bağlı olarak değişimi de gözler önüne serilmiştir.

Sûrnâme’s are literary works about the Ottoman Empire’s palace weddings, circumcision ceremonies or festivals, usually prepared by the poets that were appointed by Sultan. Altough, festivals and weddings took part in classical Ottoman poetry in earlier periods; they had become original literary works in 16th Century. Even though, Sûrnâme’s considered as proses that reflect the language characteristics of their era, Mehmet Arslan highlights that Vehbi’s language is more ornate and involuted than its contemporaries. In the 18th century, Sûrnâme-i Vehbî narrates III Ahmet’s sons’ circumcision ceremony, and a wedding ceremony serving as an important example for ornate and involuted language of these texts. This study focuses on language of Vehbi’s work while pondering on the characteristics of its target audience. Being directly assigned by Sultan, taste of his audience that poet or the writer pleases, points to the highest of estates. While taking the limitations imposed by patronage and social class into consideration, elements of language has to be analyzed in order to probe into the difference of functional prose that had to comply with the level of taste and comprehension of the patron and ornate prose that was devised for show off. Hayati Develi proposed a methodology for finding out the decisive elements of metaphoric ornate narrative language. Hayati Develi emphasizes that there is no agreed scale for assessing the comprehensibility of Ottoman texts which classifies the comprehensibility of the text as plain, moderate or ornate. On the other hand, he recommends a classification based on Bernstein’s theory. Develi, with this method, differentiates colloquial language and ordinary prose and metaphoric ornate prose. He probes into the differences between ordinary prose and ornate prose by evaluating the intensity of quotations in the text. He depicts this assessment schematically and stratifies ordinary prose into B1, B, B2 and ornate prose into C1 and C B1 layer shows similarities colloquial language where as B2 layer has more similarities to ornate prose. Building on Hayati Develi’s study, a selected excerpt from Sûrnâme-i Vehbî is analyzed using his methodology that studies the language characteristics which alter with the targeted audience. This article studies usage of Arabic and Persian quotes, usage of elements of eastern mythology, direct quotes of Persian proverbs etc. in Sûrnâme-i Vehbî. These usages suggest that writer targeted an audience with Arabic and Persian cultural background. With the same token, the excerpt selected from Vehbi’s Surname is scrutinized for “seci”’s, metaphorical usages and redundant adjective usage. The text is scrutinized for foreign language elements, especially Persian elements, in terms of supportive sentence structures belonging to these foreign language elements. This study attempts to show that selected excerpt of Sûrnâme-i Vehbî characterizes as an example of ornate prose, displaying features of metaphoric ornate narrative language which is intended for showing off. This study further attempt to show that metaphors, one of most important characteristic of this literary work, intensify or dilute based on the narrated social class. For this reason, the section in Vehbi’s work where the feast of statesman in their tent narrated is meticulously explored. In this chapter of the study where this text is scrutinized, grand vizier who was seated in the first class dining table, Shaikh al-lslam (the chief religious official in the Ottoman Empire), the governor of Rakka, Silahdar Agha’s (Master of best warrior’s assigned to the protection of Sultan) and Calvary auditors (süvari mukabelecisi) were portrayed in an array in association with their social status. In this portrayal, the language gets more ornate and literary while relying more on metaphors and redundant adjectives in cases where the grand vizier is narrated. Narrations start with grand vizier and other names finds their plac