Repentance in classical Turkish poetry

Repentance is defined as a promise to the divine will to feel regret for sins and mistakes and not to do the same actions again. Although the term repentance is the subject of the religious and mystical fields with its different aspects, it also finds a place in classical Turkish literature. The definition of repentance, its characteristics, psychological, social and religious-mystical dimensions and its interdisciplinary relationship are examined in the study. In addition, repentance practices in various religious and belief systems are mentioned; especially in Islam, the concepts of repentance and istiğfâr and the understanding of tövbe-i nasûh are systematically analyzed. Repentance is used with different connotations in the rich imaginary and aesthetic world of classical Turkish poetry. In this context, repentance has gone beyond its traditional meaning and gained different layers of meaning in the context of love, beloved and rival relationships. In the study, the understanding of repentance of lovers in particular is examined in detail; their repentances regarding topics such as love, beloved, wine, the elements of beauty of the beloved, art and poetry are analyzed. At the same time, the reasons for the deterioration of these repentances are shown through examples of poems. The perspectives of ascetic types on repentance in classical Turkish poetry are also revealed through sample poems. The changes in poets' understanding of repentance over time are examined with examples of poems selected from different centuries. In addition, information is given about the tevbenâme genre, which focuses on the theme of repentance; poems with the title tevbenâme and that have this feature in terms of content are included in the study. This study aims to make sense of how the concept and subject of repentance are positioned in classical Turkish poetry, in which semantic contexts it is used, and by revealing its relationship with other disciplines. Thus, it is aimed to better understand classical Turkish poetry through the different reflections of the theme of repentance in literary texts.