Poetry
Dîvân
Not translated into English
Koca Ragıb Paşa · 1760
Synopsis
Ghazals, an ode for Ramadan and the amplified reworking of a poem by an elder, which deal in a didactic tone with the brevity of life, the faults of the administration, virtues, reason and patience, according to turkedebiyati.org. The author follows there, according to the Diyanet, the sententious manner of Ottoman poetry, which prefers ideas to emotions, in a simple and direct language; several of his verses, which have become proverbs, are still quoted, among them the one that affirms that a single successful verse is enough.
Context
The collection was assembled after the death of its author, according to the Diyanet. Turkedebiyati.org links it to the sententious poetry inherited from Nâbî and hails in him the strongest voice of this wisdom after that master; it also quotes the often-repeated verse about the braggart who confesses to a theft while boasting of his courage. The Diyanet sees in the author a mature representative of this current and recalls his other works: a compendium in Arabic, a collection of official letters and an account of the negotiations with Iran.
Who it is for
Poems in Ottoman Turkish, with no French translation, made of sententious couplets that can be retained one by one.
Prizes and reception
His proverbial verses remained in use for a long time, according to the Diyanet, and one of them is still quoted to say that a single verse is enough.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.