In classical Turkish poetry the heroic narrator in ghazals with the refrain "bana"

This study examines the concept of the heroic narrator in ghazals, one of the most prominent verse forms of Classical Turkish literature, with a particular focus on those ending with the refrain "bana" ("to me"). The primary aim of the dissertation is to identify the types of heroic narrators employed in these bana-refrained ghazals, and to analyze how these narrative types influence the thematic structure, emotional atmosphere, and semantic layers of the poems. The research critically explores the applicability of narratological concepts such as the "heroic narrator" and "typology" within the context of Divan poetry. The study is structured into an introduction and three main chapters. The introduction presents the structural and functional features of the ghazal form and offers a theoretical framework on the presence and role of the narrator within this genre. Various elements that highlight the narrator's role are illustrated through selected couplets. The first chapter explores the historical trajectory of the concepts of narrative and narrator, their role in literature, and their manifestations across different literary genres. Furthermore, different types of narrators are elaborated and classified in accordance with narratological approaches. The second chapter provides information on divans accessed through both printed and digital sources, classified chronologically. In total, 214 divans were examined, of which 140 contained 508 ghazals ending with the refrain "bana." These ghazals were analyzed systematically in terms of their historical distribution, meter (prosody), and types of refrains. The third and final chapter identifies and examines the types of heroic narrators found in the bana-refrained ghazals (such as the lover, the beloved, the rind, Majnun, etc.). These types are interpreted through the couplets in which they describe and define themselves, revealing how they shape the aesthetic and thematic patterns of the poem through their emotions, thoughts, and expressive techniques. Among the rhetorical devices employed, simile (teşbih) is observed to be especially prominent. Keywords: Classical Turkish poetry, narrator, heroic narrator, ghazal, bana refrain.