Fahriye in Ottoman poetry

ABSTRACT Fahriye literally means self-praise, haughtiness, fame and honour. But as a literary term, fahriye indicates a part of a poem such as gazel, mesnevi or kasida, in which the poet praises himself, complains about his fate and explains his situation to his intended audience. Self-praise in the fahriye, may be better understood if we consider some aspects of Ottoman social structure. Most importantly writing fahriye in a poem was a tradition in Ottoman society. The general view of fahriye is that the poet creates exaggerated expressions and uses unreal descriptions, possibly to present himself in a position superior to other poets. However, starting from the fourteenth century, fahriye examples show another important role. This is to answer the question "who is the ideal poet?" In other words, the poet did not write a kaside only to please his/her patron, but it also served a completely different function. The expressions in fahriye show similarities to the discussion of poets and poetry in tezkires and the prefaces to divan. Key words: fahriye, kasida, self-praise, Ottoman poetry VI