Tuğrâî’nin Lâmiyyetü’l-Acem Adlı Kasidesinde Sembolik Anlatım
Abstract
Klasik kaside formlarının kullanıldığı eski Arap şiirinde sembollerin varlığı ve bunların simgelediği anlamlar hemen her dönemde çeşitli incelemelere konu olmuştur. Bunun en güzel örneklerinden biri Tuğrâî’nin (ö. 515/1121) Lâmiyyetü’l-Acem adlı kasidesidir. Bu makale Lâmiyyetü’l-Acem’de sembolik anlatımın varlığına dair ortaya atılan tezleri konu edinmekte ve Tuğrâî’nin yapıtlarında sembolik ifadelerin yer aldığının gösterilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bunu gerçekleştirmek için makalenin girişinde kasidedeki sembollerle yakından ilişkili olan Tuğrâî’nin hayatı incelenecek, sonrasında ise Lâmiyyetü’l-Acem hakkında bilgi verilecektir. Peşi sıra sembollerin varlığı ile ilgili öne sürülen iddialar değerlendirilecek ve sonuç olarak Lâmiyyetü’l-Acem’in semboller üzerinden yorumlanabileceği iddia edilecektir.
Keywords
The Claims for Symbolic Expressions in al-Šughrā’ī’s Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam
Abstract
Abū Ismā‘īl al-Ṭughrā’ī’s (d. 515/1121) ode, titled Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam, has received considerable interest by scholars, and has been the subject of discussion in various literary circles. Because odes in classical Arabic poetry were named after their rhyming letters, al-Ṭughrā’ī’s ode gained fame with the title Lāmiyya. “‘Ajam” (non-Arab) in Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam was related to the fact that al-Ṭughrā’ī was born in Isfahan where Persians were living.
Al-Ṭughrā’ī states in the beginning of his Dīwān (collection of poetry) that the ode’s theme is based on personal experience. Thus, it is necessary to understand the poet’s life in order to accurately interpret the ode. Serving in the Seljukid bureaucratic offices, al-Ṭughrā’ī reached as high as the position of chancellor, the most powerful person after vizier in the bureaucracy. While al-Ṭughrā’ī was expecting to rise to the post of vizierate, he lost his chancellor position after becoming subject to false accusations by his rivals. After he was dismissed from his position in Baghdad, he settled in Isfahan and composed Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam under these stressful conditions.
A literary work is interpreted by explaining the hidden meanings in the text. As the words are interpreted proportional to the skills of the reader, a literary work represents a unity of meanings made of various layers. The most important element that enables the reader to identify multiple layers of meanings is its invocations of symbolic expressions. Once it is accepted that a work includes symbolic expressions, it gains another layer of meaning beyond its literal meaning. In this context, al-Ṭughrā’ī’s ode Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam provides abundant material for both literal and symbolic interpretation.
Dividing Lāmiyyat al-ʿAjam into sections by its subjects will enable us to see its poetic theme and the symbolic meanings and functions of the ode’s preamble. At the beginning of the ode, al-Ṭughrā’ī boasts about his honor and addresses his departure from Baghdad, complaining about the negative effects caused by his leaving. Following this section, the poet details the journey he embarked on towards his beloved and ends the ode by talking about his resistance to harsh conditions as well as the connection between his aims and success.
Examining his life and Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam, one can understand that al-Ṭughrā’ī’s ambition to reach higher positions inspired the ode. Considering the fact that he composed the ode at a time when he was dismissed from the position for composing royal letters, one can say that al-Ṭughrā’ī’s dismissal and his desire to restore his losses inspired the writing of the poem. In this framework, the poet’s description of his journey toward his beloved between the 10th and 29th couplets does not fit well with the connection between his life and the poem’s sections.
Most classical commentators preferred to focus on the meanings of the words in couplets, their lexicographical and syntactical features, and to analyze the sentences in respect to the field of rhetoric, the couplets’ meanings, and the claims of plagiarism for certain lines rather than examining the ode’s semantic unity and symbolic expressions in the couplets. Some classical commentators did not pay attention to the fact that, unlike the classical form of odes, al-Ṭughrā’ī did not mention the preamble at the introduction while he was talking about the events that occurred in his life and that he held the harmony between the ode’s section through symbolic expressions. In this framework, Abū Jum‘a argued that certain symbols were used in the ode Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam. According to this argument, female names mentioned in the classical Arabic poetry did not correspond to real personalities but were rather symbolic representations. For example, the most frequently mentioned names in classical Arabic odes, such as Salma and Laila were accepted not as real personalities, but rather help to meet the poetic meter. In this context, it would be fitting to mention the views of literary men on the identity of a woman’s name Su‘ād in Ka‘b b. Zuhayr’s ode recited to the Prophet. Some literary critics considered that Su‘ād was Ka‘b b. Zuhayr’s wife and some others thought it to be a woman he loved. Some critics also argued that it was an imaginary woman. Therefore, Abū Jum‘a argued that the woman mentioned in the preamble of Lāmiyyat al-‘Ajam was not a real person, but the poet’s medium of alluding to his dismissal from the vizieral position.
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