Tanzimat Era Poetry

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Introduction
It was during the Tanzimat period that much criticism and dissent in poetry occurred to advocate political and social change, which became a systematic and compelling force. The Tanzimat Era is different from the pre-mid-nineteenth century periods in the sense that the Tanzimat poets promoted revolutionary change to eliminate classical traditions. It was a surprise that the prominent poet-rebels during the Tanzimat Era who advocated populism, basic freedoms, constitutional government, nationhood, and fundamental rights were deported or persecuted. In the Tanzimat Era, the Ottoman political and social reforms were developed with the aim of strengthening the empire to adapt itself to the values of the modern western civilization (Agoston and Masters 340). As a result, Ottoman literature experienced a similar modernization movement. During the Tanzimat period, Ottoman intellectuals accepted the fact that the old imperial styles of the periods prior the Tanzimat Era were outdated and therefore could not convey nor present modern western values that the Ottoman civilization wanted to adopt. It was this reason the Ottoman intellectuals criticized the old literature and started to make a brand-new method in terms of language, topics and forms. From the advent of Tanzimat Era, Ottoman literary characteristics, which experienced continuously transformation using ideas and models adopted from western literature. Tanzimat Era is the first period of Late Ottoman literature, which is followed by Servet-I Fünun period literature, Fecr-i Ati literature, and National literature movement period, and lastly the Republican literature Era.
The Tanzimat Era (1860-1895)
Tanzimat Era literature transformed the aesthetical and abstract approaches to traditional Ottoman literature (the divan literature). The classical (traditional) Ottoman literature had been repeated for several centuries in the same topics and forms. A new approach to literature was developed to replace the classical Ottoman literature. According to Agoston and Masters, the new literature approach was a deliberate move having a political agenda focused to ensure social development (340). While writers of Tanzimat Era initially aimed to introduce new ideas to the intellectual elite, they remained determined to develop a clear and simple language with the aim of creating these ideas available to general readers. Western literature was the role model for these changes. Tanzimat writers started to translate western literature in1858. These translations were significant since new literary forms like the persuasive essay, drama, and short stories were introduced to be part of the Ottoman consciousness; as a result, these led to immediate creation of Ottoman works through making use of similar forms. Great Ottoman literary forms like poems experienced transformation along new lines, using new ideas, and presenting a modern structure.
Tanzimat literature can be categorized into two periods. The first period marked the time between 1860 and 1876 in which literature was utilized as a tool to reorient and prepare the Ottoman society to stand firm for the beginning of major social and political change (Agoston and Masters 341). The intellectuals, who founded the modern Ottoman literature, were journalists and statesmen. Through their written work, they promoted reform proposals focused on strengthening the collapsing empire. The Tanzimat writers produced literature with teaching, instructing, exploring and criticizing quality.
Ibrahim Sinasi (1826-71) was the leading figure during this era; he developed numerous innovative ideas in Ottoman literature. Sinasi developed the publication of “Tercüme-i Manzume” (Translated poems) during 1853 and also created the translations of different western poems. Agoston and Masters view that the new poetic topics and forms in such translations evolved to be a model of the modernization development of Ottoman poetry (341). The western literature inspired Sinasi, and he created his poems using such inspirations. He incorporated political concepts like liberty, equality, and justice with idealized abstract style of traditional era poetry. Moreover, another significant feature of such initial works was the way poems were written in clear and simple language. In this approach, the elite class was attracted to the poems, which for the first time were written in an intelligible language, which appealed to the public.
Journalism during this era also contributed a significant role to make simple and clear language and assisted spreading reformist ideas to the public (Agoston and Masters 342). Sinasi contributed a crucial role in creating simplified language he used in his articles in "State of affairs" (Tercüman-ı Ahval), which was the first independent Turkish newspaper and also his play "Marriage of a poet" (Åžair Evlenmesi). Sinasi’s contribution to the development of modern Turkish literature was also important because of his influence on Namik Kemal (1888-1940), who later assisted the movement to move further. Initially, Namik Kemal wrote his poems in the style of the divan literature, but later he changed his style of literary method when he was influenced by and familiarized with Sinasi’s stylistic poetic approach. Similar to Sinasi, Namik developed novels, theatrical plays and poems that presented political issues. Namik wrote newspaper articles which presented influential and compelling ideas regarding social and political issues of that era. He also participated actively to the collapse and departure of the divan literature. He worked hard to develop techniques and forms, which could effectively present new ideas and were important to the public. He was an outstanding writer of the Tanzimat Era and was famously known.
Ziya Pasha (1829-80) was another prominent figure in the first era of Tanzimat literature. He supported the same literary style and political ideas as Namik Kemal. Ziya Pasha went beyond Namik Kemal’s work in his article “Poetry and prose” (Åžiir ve InÅŸa-1868) in which he argued that the true foundation of Turkish literature was not based on the divan literature, which was greatly influenced by Persian and Arabic culture (Agoston and Masters 342). He believed that a true foundation of the Turkish literature was majorly influenced by the folk literature, which had been prevailing for centuries among the people.
The second Era of Tanzimat literature began with the Abdulhamid II” ascension to power in 1876 and the period continued until when the Sevet-Funun literature (an actual reformist era in Ottoman literature both in form and content) began in 1985. Accepting the sovereignty by promising to ensu...