Fitnat Hanim (d. 1780)

Born Zübeyde, Fitnat Hanım was the daughter of Şeyhulislam Mehmed Es'at Efendi. She was educated by private tutors and married Derviş Efendi, who was promoted to the rank of kazasker. Since Derviş Efendi did not like art and literature, Fitnat Hanım had a very unhappy marriage. It cannot be argued that she truly freed herself from the classical, male-dominated discourse of divan poetry in her rubais, kasides, gazels, and şarkıs, though she has come to be known as one of the best women poets of the Ottoman period.

IN THE GARDEN

In the garden, the roses were all bewildered as they watched your cheek

Jealous of your lovelocks the hyacinths were all distraught

 

We deserved one attractive glance, but alas, what to do

Our bosom is constantly the target of eyelash-arrows

 

Oh you with rosebud lip, I imagined your crimson cheek

And it became the envy of every rose in the dwelling of my memory

 

You give savor to the party, oh lovely mine of salt,

For the cup of wine is but a salt-bowl reflecting your ruby lip

 

Oh Fitnat, when that sweet mouth begins to speak alluringly,

Blessed by abundant speech the world all becomes a field of sugarcane

 

Translated by Kemal Silay

THE BELOVED

The only reason to describe the rose garden is the face of the beloved

The only reason to mention hyacinths is the beloved’s locks

 

The heart has fallen into a black passion for the dark down on his face

The water of eternal life is the only reason to follow Hızır

 

Oh doctor of allure, listen to the groans of your lovers

Hope of treatment is the only reason to tell of one’s pains

 

What reason to mention the garden, its wallflower, cypress, and narcissus

But to recall your musky locks, your tall body, your seductive eye

 

Oh Fitnat, doubtless those who know poetry will understand

The only reason for such simple verse is to compile a divan

 

Translated by Kemal Silay

 

[From An Anthology of Turkish Literature, Edited by Kemal Silay]