Abstract
Local Geography of The Local Poet: Place Names in the Poetry of Rahimi of Kutahya
In Divan literature it is possible to come across different
movements of style. Styles such as classical style, sebk-i
Hindi (Indian style), hikemi uslup (didactic style),
localization have been influential in the shaping of poets'
literary identities and of contents in their poetry. Among
these styles, localization, which can be defined as loving
and dealing with the local, becoming aware of the language
of the local and of Istanbul, reflecting the features of
utterance, has been influential on poets in every period.
One of the poets who wrote their poems in line with this
style is Rahimi of Kutahya. One of the poets of the sixteenth
century, Rahimi attracts attention with local elements in
his poetry in that century. As a poet who visited different
cities in Anatolia, Rahimi abundantly included local
geography in his poetry. The poet included nineteen
different cities of Anatolia 130 times. He dealt with
Anatolia with the cities he lived in, with its rivers, seas,
mountains, recreation areas and he tried to make use of all
kinds of connotations provided by geography.
In Divan literature geography is mostly used within a
relationship between lover and beloved in the context of
place-man union. The poet, who dealt with geography
through historical references within historical events and
elements, includes geography occasionally in its real sense
and occasionally as a decorative instrument. Thus,
geography takes its place in poetry as an element of
connotation that forms the basis for different figures of
speech the poet uses such as double-entendre, pun,
personification, simile and iham. This study examined first
of all the relation of
Keywords
Rahimi of Kutahya, localization, Anatolian geography, place-poet relation, place names.