Urfalı Ömer Nüzhet's Şerh-i Dîvân-ı Urfî

This thesis studies Ömer Nüzhet's Şerh-i Dîvân-ı Urfî, a commentary on the qasidas of Divan written by Urfî-i Şîrâzî, a renowned Persian poet who lived between 1556 and 1591. The thesis examines the work by scholarly methods and presents a comparative text of the manuscripts. Urfî's Divan had a significant influence on 17th-century Turkish literature, and several scholars wrote commentaries on his poems after the 17th century. Ahmed Sabîh, Adnî and Ömer Nüzhet are important names who wrote commentaries on his qasidas. This thesis focuses on Ömer Nüzhet's Şerh-i Dîvân-ı Urfî, which contains commentaries on 18 of Urfî's qasidas. The thesis examines five copies of the manuscripts in Turkey. It presents a comparative text of the two most extensive copies: the one in the Topkapı Palace Museum Library and the one in the Süleymaniye Library Hafid Efendi collection. In addition to the Şerh-i Dîvân-ı Urfî, Ömer Nüzhet also authored other works such as the Dîvân, Cevâhirü'l-Hikem, Menkabe-i Evliyâ'iye fî Ahvâli Rızâ'iye, Terceme-i Tenbîhâtü'l-Müneccimîn, Terceme-i Hâl-i Ragıb Paşa, and Manzum Hadîs-i Erba'în Şerhi. The thesis begins with a brief overview of the commentary tradition in classical Turkish literature. It then provides information on Urfî's life, art, and works, and discusses his influence on classical Turkish literature. The thesis then examines the life and works of Ömer Nüzhet Efendi, followed by an analysis of his Şerh-i Dîvân-ı Urfî and the comparative text of the manuscripts. The analysis focuses on the qasidas that Ömer Nüzhet commented on, his commentary method, and the content of the commentary. Finally, the thesis discusses Nüzhet's spelling and language characteristics. It is understood that the studied text has an extremely heavy style and an intricate structure due to the Sebk-i Hindî style.