Недим: Жизнь и творчество османского поэта эпохи тюльпанов

Ottoman poet

Ahmed Effendi, better known by his mahlas (nom de plume) Nedîm (Ottoman Turkish: نديم; c. 1681 – 1730), was an Ottoman lyric poet of the Tulip Period. He achieved his greatest fame during the reign of Ahmed III. He was known for his slightly decadent, even licentious poetry often couched in the most staid of classical formats, but also for bringing the folk poetic forms of türkü and şarkı into the court.

Not much is known about Nedîm's early life, except for what can be inferred from records of the time. Nedîm (then Ahmed) was born in Constantinople, most likely in 1681. His pre nomial Mülakkabzâde (lit. descendant of the nicknamed [man]) was given to him as a result of his grandfather Merzifonlu Mülakkab Mustafa Muslihiddin Efendi; a kazasker who was known as a "man of unusual preferences", and was nicknamed as such, before being lynched in front of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 1648. As the son of Kadı Mehmed Effendi, and a family vested in Ottoman bureaucracy, Nedîm's education is thought to be quite robust, including a variety of sciences, as well as "enough Arabic and Persian to write poetry." Nedîm was, however, better known for the challenge he provided to the literary environment of Constantinople, which by then strongly favored the Nâbî school; a school of highly philosophical, almost didactic ghazals. Other sources claim that he could have died of tremors, most likely from substance abuse or a disease resembling Parkinson's. Either way, it is known that he remained a scholar at the Sekban Ali Pasha Madrasa up until his last days.

Nedim is now generally considered, along with Fuzûlî and Bâkî, to be one of the three greatest poets in the Ottoman Divan poetry tradition. It was not, however, until relatively recently that he came to be seen as such: in his own time, for instance, the title of reîs i şâirân (رئيس شاعران), or "leader of poets", was given by Sultan Ahmed III not to Nedim, but to the now relatively obscure poet Osmanzâde Tâib, and several other poets as well were considered superior to Nedim in his own day. This relative lack of recognition may have had something to do with the sheer newness of Nedim's work, much of which was rather radical for its time. Nedîm's works are a diverse collection; consisting of 170 ghazals, 34 şarkıs, 44 qasidas, 88 strophic forms, 3 mathnawis, 11 rubais and 2 koşmas, as well as a few poems of other forms. Because of this diversity, as well as cultural forces such as modernization, nationalism and heteronormativity, Nedîm's poems have been analyzed in a range of different, and sometimes contradictory ways. According to H. A. R. Gibb, for instance, Nedîm's school of poetry could have been described as a local, vernacular style of lyric poetry that makes use of "realistic descriptions of women", with a worldly focus and a lack of interest in Sufi mysticism.

While there is wide consensus that Nedîm's focus was not on Sufism or philosophy, there is dispute on his religiosity and philosophical beliefs. It is known that he did want to join a tariqa at one point, however most dispute that he was a member. Some researchers, including Gölpınarlı, suggest that his religious beliefs might not have been fully genuine. Others, such as Muhsin Macit, have pointed out a lack of a "greater power" in Nedîm's poems, arguing that "[in his works], everything seems to happen on its own." Furthermore, he seems to have been dismissive of earlier philosophical traditions, to the point of openly disliking both Plato and Aristotle, calling their supporters "confused"; whether this was his genuine thoughts is however still debated.