The image of Atatürk in the works of Behçet Kemal Çağlar

Turkish modernization, which started to develop in the 18th century, entered a new phase with the proclamation of the Republic on October 29, 1923. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who has been a leader to the Turkish society in this process, is one of the most important figures of the Turkish society. Because Atatürk not only took the concrete steps of the modernization movement with his principles and revolutions, but also presented a living example of the modern Turkish identity with his behaviors and daily life practices. The fact that Atatürk was an exemplary personality for the Turkish society had a significant impact on Turkish literature. In this context, new ideas and values that gained momentum with the proclamation of the Republic were processed and transferred in Turkish literature by associating these ideas with the figure of Atatürk. This tendency, as it emerged in Atatürk's health, continued to be influential after Atatürk's death. Thus, in Turkish poetry, a type of poetry was born that named as Atatürk Poems that want to address the Turkish people by taking Atatürk as the subject. As a poet who managed to make his voice heard in the 1930s, Behçet Kemal Çağlar is considered to be one of the most well-known poets from movement of Atatürk poems. So much so that the poet was referred to by his contemporaries as Atatürk's Poet, Poet of the Father or the Poet of the Revolution. When Çağlar's poems are examined, it is understood that the poet's being mentioned with these titles is not a coincidence. Because, as seen in this study, Çağlar has followed a career that can make his literacy completely devoted to Atatürk and Kemalism. This preference of the poet, as emphasized elsewhere by many literary researchers, has been criticized by the interpretation that this devotion goes too far. Although opinions on the place and importance of Çağlar's literacy in Turkish literature differ but researchers agree on the poet's approach to Kemalism. Çağlar, who started to produce his works when Atatürk was alive, uses image of Atatürk as a tool to convey the activities of the new Turkish state to the Turkish people in its early period. The purpose of the poet in this choice is undoubtedly to act as a bridge between the Turkish people living in Anatolia and the Republic. Because when the poems of Çağlar are examined, the poet uses a very plain language and tries to bring elements of Turkish folk poetry into modern Turkish poetry. Çağlar, who has a personal affinity with Atatürk, was deeply affected by Atatürk's death. This effect is also reflected in the poet's works. Because, in the process following Atatürk's death, it is seen that Çağlar changed the way he used the image of Atatürk. Between the death of Atatürk (1938) and the 1950s, Çağlar used the image of Atatürk to express his nostalgia for the first years of the Republic. In the poems written in this period, the poet criticized the politicians for not being like Atatürk or not protecting his legacy in his criticism of the governments that came after Atatürk. It is felt that Çağlar fell into a deep despair during the ruling of the Democratic Party between 1950-1960. Because the Democrat Party also disappointed the poet in the matter of sticking to Atatürk's reforms and ideas. In the poems written during this period, Atatürk was treated as a figure who was expected to save the Turkish nation again. In these poems, the poet has often emphasized that Kemalism is the only way out for the Turkish nation. Çağlar considered the removal of the Democrat Party from power by the 27 May 1960 Military Coup as a positive development, and he seems to have used a hopeful language for a few years following the coup. As a result of this development, the poet got the idea that Kemalism would become the dominant ideology again. The poet reflected Atatürk as a victorious figure in these poems. However, the hopes of Çağlar must have been in vain, as the poet switched his style to a style that full of despair after a while. Thus, from the mid-1960s until his death in 1969, Çağlar continued to write poems full of longing for Atatürk and about Atatürk's achievements. The image of Atatürk in Çağlar's poems was heavily influenced by the conditions and political climate of the period. However, as the general stylistic features of the poet, it is possible to state that in the poems of Çağlar, Atatürk is a person who stands out with his physical beauty, a superior figure adorned with divine features, and an influential revolutionary leader who has made a name for himself all over the world. Keywords: Behçet Kemal Çağlar, Atatürk, Image, Poetry, Content Analysis