Challenging Conventions: Love, Lovers, and Beloveds in Early Modern Ottoman Poetry

As the core theme of Early Modern Ottoman poetry, love inspired a plethora of Turkish research, the most enlightening of which explored questions of terminology, semantics, and mystic dimensions. Internationally, however, there have been few publications on this subject. This book closes this gap by investigating ʿışḳ in different genres and contexts. Whereas the terms ḥubb and maḥabbet point to comfort and care, the term ʿışḳ denotes passionate love; often laced with mystical connotations. Through this lens we show that Ottoman lyrical realities transgressed the rules, burgeoning beyond conventional settings and giving voice to vivid creativity. Large parts of urban society indulged in poetry and thereby challenged certain norms.

Hatice Aynur, Istanbul Şehir University, Turkey, and Christiane Czygan, University of Bonn, Germany.