A Psychoanalytic Approach to Nature-Culture Contrast/Conflict in Turkish Poetry of the Republican Period

Introduction and the Aim of the Study In this article, it has been aimed to put forth the attitude of the poet who opposited theurban in the Turkish Poetry of the Republican Period. While doing this, it has been tried to showpsychic aspect in the sensation and perception of poet against the urban with psychoanalytic theory. At this point,owing to the fact that the urbanis a cultural/symbolic area, the poet want to leave from this place. The most important reason is that the laws of the cultural area block pleasures. Culture emerges as a consequence of separating from nature. Actually, it means alienation to the nature. Therefore it is situated just opposite the nature. In nature, there is no distinction or categories on the meanings and values contrary to cultural area. Hence the nature is an area of integrity. Nature is accepted as an area of absolute pleasure, desire, satisfaction and fulfillment. Culture is, on the contrary, the area of law and prohibition which blocks the absolute pleasure and satisfaction. In psychoanalysis, the period having the characteristics of the area of the nature corresponds to first three years. However, cultural area emerges as the consequence of learning the language. Sigmund Freud terms this seperation as primary and secondary processes,while Jacques Lacan terms them as the imaginary and the symbolic stages. Imaginary stage is the period in which the desires are met with a holistic perception, narcissistic satisfaction is felt intensely and a self-image is established for the first time. However, symbolic stage is the period in which most of those narcissistic sensations belong to imaginary period are inhibited and the first self-image established is degraded. The subject had to leave most of his narcissistic sensations which belong to first period while establishing himself by leaving the imaginary area and entering the symbolic area. Therefore the subject desires to return back from symbolic area to the integrity, narcissistic sensation and the first self-image of his imaginary area he lost as long as he lives. At this point, the poet expresses his desire to return from cultural/symbolic area, from the urban to the nature area / imaginary area in his poetry. Hence, the poet raises the value of nature while fighting against the cultural areas/urban and aganist the meaning and value of them. In poetry, the nature is associated with pleasure, desire, unconsciousness, unmediated perception and feminine images. On the other hand, the culture is associated with urban, law, prohibition, obstacle, consciousness, mediated perception and masculine images. In fact, dialectically, obstacles produce pleasure. There is no joy or delight in where without obstacles and with the absolute pleasure. Therefore, pleasure does not exist in nature. Pleasure arises as a result of blockings of cultural area from which the nature is alienated. At this point, the pleasure which emerges in the cultural area is the form of sexual impulses and instincts of Eros being transformed into life according to the reality principle. The poet do not accept the incomplete pleasure of cultural area or the urban. He desires the absolute pleasure and satisfaction which exist in the instinct and impulse of death of Thanatos by gravitating towards the nature. Dialectically, there cannot be found pleasure in where absolute pleasure and satisfaction exist since there are no obstacles or inhibition. The nature-culture contrast in the Turkish poetry of the Republican period is treated with the richness of all these sensations and perceptions. Conceptional/Theoretical Frame In this article, theurbanhas been taken as cultural/symbolic area.Symbolichas been taken from Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory as a concept. Ithas been used linguistic area in which the subject live.The cause of the poet’s leaving from the cultural area is to return back to the imaginary area. Imaginary which is taken Lacan’s theory as a concepthas been used by

Keywords

Turkish Poetry of the Republican Period, Nature-Culture Conflict, Pleasue