Turkish Literature Under Western (Civilisation) Influence Turkish Poetry Under Western Poetry Influence

Abstract

In the history of Turkish modernization, the construction of new Turkish literature and the modernization of Turkish poetry have a very important place. To say that modern Turkish literature was born under the influence of Western European “civilization” and to talk about a Turkish literature under the influence of Western “literature” means to express two very different claims. Likewise, it would be different to talk about a Turkish poem under the influence of Western “literature” and to talk about a Turkish poem under the influence of Western “poetry”. For this reason, it is necessary to say that the terms “Western civilization” and “Western literature” express different contents and distinguish between literature and poetry.

The early artists of the new Turkish literature and modern Turkish poetry argued that literature and poetry / art should be at the service of the people, with the idea of poíêsis, which finds its origin in Greek philosophy. Thus, poetry has acquired a direct aim (kátharsis) by undertaking the task of examining the possibilities of Turkish cultural existence to take place and maintain its existence in the modern world.

The modernization of Turkish poetry, which has a very old tradition, is different from the giving of the first examples of genres such as novel, essay, theater and the modernization of Turkish literature. The formation of genres such as novel and theater in Turkish has been provided by making use of all the achievements and possibilities of classical Turkish poetry. The modernization of Turkish poetry should be evaluated separately from Turkish novel, story and theater within Turkish modernization.

In this article, in the light of the thoughts summarized above, the following questions were asked and tried to be answered: 1- Is it the same to talk about a Turkish poetry / literature under Western influence and to talk about a Turkish poetry / literature under Western poetry / literature influence? 2- Is poetry a branch of literature? 3- (Therefore), does the modernization of Turkish poetry, which has an old tradition, and the emergence of genres such as novel and theater that make up modern Turkish prose, under the direct influence of Western literature, mean the same thing? The subject of the article is limited to the 19th century.