Annotation of selected ghazals from Hoca Dehhâni's Divan

Hoca Dehhânî is one of the earliest major Divan poets to have emerged in Anatolia during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. As a pioneer in the institutionalization of Divan literature in the region, he is recognized for transmitting the Persian literary tradition into Turkish and for applying the formal characteristics of classical poetry, particularly through the ghazal form. Sharḥ (commentary) is an interpretive activity with ancient roots and holds a significant place in Islamic culture. The tradition began with Qur'anic exegesis in Islamic thought and later expanded beyond religious texts into other fields. Having developed into a systematic method in disciplines such as philosophy, theology, and literature, the practice of commentary became particularly prominent in the field of Divan poetry. The frequent use of literary devices, conventional expressions, and symbolic structures in classical poetry necessitated interpretations beyond surface meaning, making the commentary method essential for proper understanding. This study provides a commentary on thirty selected ghazals from Hoca Dehhânî's Divan. Each ghazal is examined couplet by couplet, with attention to word meanings, prose translation, and interpretive analysis. Literary devices, metaphors, and connotations are explained in detail, and the poet's semantic world is evaluated within its social, historical, and cultural context. Qualitative research methods such as document analysis, interpretation, explanation, and comparison have been employed. This thesis offers a commentary-based reading approach that emphasizes the continuity of the classical literary tradition while re-evaluating the literary legacy of an early-period poet such as Hoca Dehhânî.