NECATI AND NEFI (1474-1647)

NECATI

(NEJATÍ)

Considered the first great lyric poet of Ottoman Turkish literature.

Probably born a slave he while still very young went to the city of Kastamonu and began to develop his skill in calligraphy and his reputation as a poet.

About 1480 he journeyed to the Ottoman capital Istanbul and wrote verses for the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II (1451-81).

After the accession of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) Necati briefly entered the service of one of his sovereign´s sons Prince Abdullah (died 1483).

Upon his return to Istanbul he was once again awarded a government post with another of the Sultan´s sons Prince Mahmud in whose service the poet left patronless again when Prince Mahmud died in 1507/08.

After returning to the capital Necati refused any further appointments and lived in retirement until his death in 1509.

Apart from a few scattered lines from the many pieces atributed to Necati, the only extant work is his Divan (Collected Poems) in which there are numerous examples of his graceful and refined verse.

Considered an original and eloquent poet he won the praises of his contemporaries and later Turkish writers securing for himself an important place in Turkish literary history.


NEF´I

Pseudonym of ÖMER.
Also known as NEF´I OF ERZURUM.

One of the greatest classical satirists and panegyrists in Ottoman Turkish literature.

Little more is known of his early life than that he served as a minor government official in the reign of the Ottoman sultan Ahmed I (1603-17).

It was not until the time of Sultan Murad IV (1623-40) himself a poet of some distinction that Nefi succeeded in gaining court favour.

He became famous as a court panegyrist and also developed his reputation as a powerful satirist.

With the exception of his patron the Sultan he attacked the highest public figures in the land with his vituperative pen. These satirical sketches expressed in a witty style and often in obscene and vulgar language reveal the poet´s most candid opinions of those in power. He frequently satirized a figure he had eulogized earlier in his career. Nefi´s biting invective caused his downfall for he created numerous enemies at the Ottoman court.

One such, Bayram Pasa, deputy prime minister and brother-in-law of the Sultan finally succeeded in securing his execution in 1635/36.

Nef´i is considered one of the finest qasidah (ode) writers of Ottoman literature.
His famous divan contains many examples of his eloquent poetic style and his magnificent language which is both musical and vividly imaginative. Though his qasidahs, mainly eulogies, are considered to be extremely tasteful and proper, his satirical works are held to be calumnous and abusive.

Nef´i also left a Persian divan that brought him great praise from his patron Murad IV who was a great admirer of Persian letters.