This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
A beyit is a metrical unit in literature consisting of two lines that form a meaningful whole. Particularly in Divan literature, beyits serve as the fundamental building blocks of poetry. Each beyit can constitute a self-contained unit of meaning or function as part of a larger composition. Poets have skillfully employed beyits to explore a wide range of themes such as love, nature, philosophy, and Sufism. Despite their brevity, beyits hold a special place due to their capacity to convey intense meanings, profound emotions, and powerful imagery.
Love is one of the deepest and most enduring themes in Turkish literature. Especially in Divan literature, love is not viewed merely as a personal emotion but as an expression of quest, suffering, and ultimately, salvation. Divan poets depicted love through symbols and metaphors, deeply conveying both its painful and sweet dimensions. Beyits on love reflect the inner conflicts of the human soul, the transformative power of love, and spiritual journeys. The understanding of love in Divan literature is largely rooted in a Sufi perspective: love is seen as a path that matures the individual, purifies the soul, and brings one closer to the divine. Yet poets did not overlook the anguish and torment of love; they incorporated both its sublime and painful nature into their works.
In this text, beyits written by Divan poets on the theme of love are presented both in their original form and with explanatory translations into modern Turkish, examining how the poets perceived love and the contribution of this understanding to our literature. Beyits do not merely offer aesthetic pleasure; they also provide significant insights into the psychology of love and its Sufi dimensions.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
“Aşk derdiyle hoşem el çek ilâcımdan tabîb
Kılma dermân kim helâkim zehri dermândadır.”
O physician, withdraw your hand from my medicine, for my pain brings me joy.
Do not seek a cure for me, for my ruin lies within the poison of my pain—it is my hidden remedy.
Fuzûlî refers to the pain of love as “poison,” yet asserts that this very pain is the source of his pleasure and existence. According to the poet, the true cure for the lover lies precisely in the love that makes him ill; thus, any external “medicine” (comfort) would actually distort the essence of love. In this beyit, the Sufi theme of “the cure is hidden within the ailment” is expressed. The torment of love is the very blessing that perfects the lover.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Bağlanıp zülfünde bozdum ahdi de peymanı da
Çeşmini gördüm unuttum derdi de dermanı da."
I became bound to the strands of her hair, breaking my vow and my promise.
When I saw her eyes, I forgot both my pain and the remedy I had found for it.
In this beyit, Şeyh Galip expresses the profound impact of love. Before the power of love, the poet cannot keep his word or fulfill his promises; for love has intoxicated him so completely that everything in his mind dissolves into the gaze of his beloved. By saying “I broke my vow and promise bound to her hair,” the poet conveys that his obsession with her locks nullifies all other commitments. “I saw her eyes and forgot both my pain and its cure” signifies that the magic found in her eyes has erased all of his sorrows and solutions alike. This beyit illustrates how love dominates human reason and will, and how it elevates the lover to a different plane of existence.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Vur şânlı silâhınla gönül mülkü düzelsin
Sen öldürüyorken de vururken de güzelsin."
Strike me with your glorious weapon (your eyes), so that my heart’s realm may be restored.
You are beautiful even when you kill me and even when you strike me.
In this beyit, the poet expresses his complete surrender to his beloved and his acceptance of every state of hers. He calls upon his beloved to strike his heart, even if it causes him harm, because every movement and aspect of her is beautiful to him. The poet asserts that even if his beloved possesses a destructive power, that power itself is aesthetically beautiful. The beyit emphasizes the intensity of love, the lover’s total surrender to the beloved, and his acceptance of every facet of her being.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
Zehr olursa yâr elinden hoş gelir
Şehd olursa gayrdan nâ-hoş gelir
Even if poison comes from my beloved’s hand, it is sweet to me.
Even if honey comes from another, it is unpleasant to me.
In this beyit, the poet expresses that everything received from the beloved holds value for the lover. Even if what the beloved gives is as bitter as poison, the lover accepts it with joy. In contrast, even the sweetest things from others—such as honey—are worthless to him. The beyit underscores the lover’s absolute devotion to the beloved and the utter insignificance of all else.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Aşk ile viran iden gönlünü ma’mûr istemez
Hâtırın mahzûn iden bir lahza mesrur istemez"
A heart laid waste by love does not seek restoration.
A spirit weighed down by sorrow does not desire even a moment of joy.
In this beyit, Avnî explores the deep and lasting effects of love on the human soul. The term “viran” means ruined or desolate; the poet describes how love has shattered the heart. Love so profoundly disturbs and transforms the heart that it no longer yearns for “ma’mûr” (restored, at peace). Similarly, when the “hâtır” (mind, inner world) becomes “mahzûn” (grieving, sorrowful), the person does not seek even a fleeting moment of happiness. Here, Avnî emphasizes that love is not a passing emotion but a transformative experience that leaves behind a permanent state of inner emptiness and profound stillness. In the poet’s portrayal, love leaves the individual in constant search and a sense of incompleteness.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Bende Mecnun'dan füzûn aşk-î istidâdî var,
Aşık-ı sâdık benem, Mecnun'un ancak adı var."
I possess a greater capacity for love and a deeper endurance of its pain than Majnun.
I am the true lover; Majnun has only his name.
Fuzûlî here compares himself to Majnun, the legendary figure who went mad from love and lived it to its extreme. Yet Fuzûlî claims he has experienced a deeper pain of love and understands true love more fully than Majnun. With the phrase “Aşık-ı sâdık,” he refers to one who embodies pure and genuine love. In this beyit, Fuzûlî emphasizes that love’s suffering perfects the individual and that he has lived this path more profoundly than Majnun.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"N'oldu getirmedin ele sad-pâre gönlümü
Vehm eyledim mi elkese bu şişe pâresi"
Why did you not bring me my pure heart?
Did you fear that I am but a broken shard of a bottle, and so you cut your hand?
Here, Fuzûlî addresses his beloved, declaring his willingness to offer his pure and untainted heart. “Sad-pâre gönlüm” refers to his heart, unblemished and sincere. Yet the beloved has not accepted it. In the line “Vehm eyledim mi,” the poet questions whether his beloved feared a mistaken assumption—that he is merely a broken shard of a bottle. This image symbolizes his heart as shattered and scattered. In this beyit, Fuzûlî expresses the deep fracture caused by love and the inner anguish it inflicts upon the lover.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Benem deryâ-yı eşkinde vücûdu ayn-ı nûn olmuş
Kenâr-ı âbda aks-i şecer-veş ser-nigûn olmuş"
My body has become a fish shaped like the letter “nûn” in the sea of tears,
On the shore of water, its reflection has turned upside down like the trees.
Zatî here describes his tears and the pain of love as a vast sea. “Eşk,” meaning tears, symbolizes his inner suffering and the torment of love. The poet conveys the depth of his anguish by likening it to his tears transforming into an ocean, while simultaneously suggesting that love brings inner purification. In the line “Kenâr-ı âbda aks-i şecer-veş ser-nigûn olmuş,” the metaphor of trees reflected upside down on the water’s surface depicts inner clarity and enlightenment. The intention is to portray a soul refined and made pure through the crucible of love and tears.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
“Aşk mıdır ki can-ü dil mülkünü yağma eyleyen
Aşk mıdır sinem içre gelip de cân eyleyen.”
Is it love that plunders the soul and heart of all they possess?
Is it love that enters my lifeless chest and restores my soul?
In this beyit, written by Kanuni Sultan Süleyman under the pen name Muhibbî, love is portrayed as a powerful force that plunders the soul and heart, taking control of all that one possesses. The poet questions how love governs the spiritual structure of the individual and shapes the inner world. He states that love first destroys the lover, then enters his lifeless chest and restores his soul. Thus, love’s dual nature—as both destructive and life-giving—is presented together, emphasizing how profoundly love transforms the human being.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Bir nefes dîdâr içün bin cân fedâ itsem n’ola
Nice demlerdür esîr-i iştiyâkıdur gönül."
What if I were to sacrifice a thousand lives for a single glance at my beloved?
The heart has long been a prisoner of longing.
In this beyit, Nef'î declares that he would willingly sacrifice a thousand lives for even a momentary glimpse of his beloved. The presence of the beloved is so precious that giving up everything for it is meaningful. Meanwhile, the heart has long been held captive by the desire to reunite with the beloved. Thus, the beyit conveys how love holds the individual in profound yearning and how every form of sacrifice for love is not only accepted but glorified.
A Visual Representation of the Beyit (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)
"Yoluna cânum revân itsem gere cânâ didüm
Yüzüme bin hışm ile bakdı did cânun mı var."
I said, “Beloved, I am ready to sacrifice my life for your path.”
She looked at me with a hundredfold anger and asked, “Do you even have a life to sacrifice?”
In this beyit, the poet declares his readiness to sacrifice his life for his beloved. Yet the beloved responds with fierce anger and a dismissive tone: “Do you even have a life worth sacrificing?” Thus, the beyit portrays the lover’s sense of worthlessness in the face of his beloved’s indifference and the beloved’s contemptuous rejection of his devotion.
Beyit (Fuzûlî)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Şeyh Galip)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Hüseyin Nihal Atsız)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Sinan Paşa)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Avnî/Fatih Sultan Mehmed)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Fuzûlî)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Fuzûlî)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Zati)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Muhibbî/Kanuni Sultan Süleyman)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Nef'î)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
Beyit (Zatî)
Modern Turkish
Explanation
