Poetry
Goşgular
Not translated into English
Myrat Talyby · 1800
Synopsis
Poems in rhymed quatrains, in which the poet names himself in the last stanza. The most quoted speaks of poverty: the people divided between rich and poor, the poor man without support, whom his own kin do not pity, for whom hunger is worse than poison, who sleeps without bedding, his arms bound, and bows his head before his equals. Other pieces speak of old age, its sorrows and the respect owed to the elderly, of the injustice of the rich, of the homeland, of unity and of love.
Context
The poem on poverty was the first, after Magtymguly, to deal with social inequality and to depict the life of the people; other pieces accuse the rich of impoverishing people and deny them any human greatness. The poem on old age, which advises the young to learn in time the value of their years, has won the esteem of generations. The same source sees in this work a continuation of the innovations of Magtymguly, who enriched the classical poetry of the nineteenth century in content and form.
Who it is for
In Turkmen, with no French or English translation; short pieces in quatrains, to be read one by one.
Prizes and reception
Named by Britannica among the Turkmen poets of his time, and regarded as an eminent poet.
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