Magin_Edward-thesis

8
literature was greatly influenced by the imagery of the mystical sect in Islam called
Sufism (Kreyenbroek 1996:95). Cezîrî’s poetry is also considered to be a “fine
representative of classical oriental 5 poetry” (Shakely 2002). Shakely writes:
His ties to this tradition are expressed through the strong Sufi elements
and through the concept of love in his poetry. In his universe there are no
clear borderlines between human and divine love. Thus the reader is often
led to ask whether it was the love of God or the beautiful Selma (said to
have been the daughter or the sister of the prince of Jezira [Cezîra]) which
brought fire to the poet’s heart. (Shakely 2002)
Romantic patriotism is also expressed in much of Cezîrî’s poetry, where the name
Kurdistan appears frequently, and he wrote many of his poems in tribute to princes of
Kurdistan. These elements make his poetry different from the court poetry written for
non-Kurdish rulers in the area (Shakely 2002). During this time, court poets were hired
by a ruler to produce poems that praised the ruler’s high position, decreeing his authority
over an area (De Bruijn 2011).
As mentioned, most of the early Kurdish literature was poetic. Kurdish prose, for
the most part, did not develop until newspapers and magazines were created in the 20 th
century (Blau 1996:23). Other great poets between the 15 th and 18 th centuries, such as
‘Ali Harîrî (1425-90?), Faqî Tayran (1590-1660), Mala Ahmed Batayî, Selîm Silêman
(16 th century), Ahmed Xanî (1651-1707), and Khanay Qubadî (1700-59), expressed the
need for Kurdish linguistic freedom―for Kurds to write in their native tongue
(Hassanpour 1996:49). Faqî Tayran, whose pen name means, ‘the bird’s jurist,’ is
considered to be a disciple of Cezîrî. He, too, wrote qashidas and ghazals and is known
as the first Kurdish poet to use the masnavî (couplet) form for a narrative poem
(Kreyenbroek 2005).
5 Shakely’s exact meaning of ‘oriental’ is unknown. It seems likely that he is referring to Middle Eastern
and Indo-Iranian literature rather than Asian literature, which would encompass literature from the entire
continent.