Fiction, narrator and narrative techniques in Namık Kemal's pieces

Theatre is an art that consists of basic elements such as piece, actor, stage and audience. It is an artistic activity that includes all elements of dramatic text, acting, staging and stage design, dress, music, lighting and technique. Having its origins in ancient times, theatre has also a literary dimension; pieces written to be staged in front of the audience in a certain period of time constitute the very literary dimension of the theatre. With the pieces and artistic works produced with the aim of serving the society, Namık Kemal is a "pioneer" writer in the field of theater. Being one of the first writers of Turkish theater that evolved under the influence of the West, Kemal gave a special importance to the theater genre. He is the first person to convey the theoretical theater information that completes the Turkish theater history. Kemal wrote six pieces. His famous Vatan yahut Silistre (Homeland or Silistra) (1873) is a piece about patriotism and heroism. In Zavallı Çocuk (The Poor Child) (1873), Kemal opposed arranged marriage and described the disasters that such marriages can cause. In Akif Bey (Mr. Akif) (1874), he described a naive, well-intentioned, patriotic naval officer. In Gülnihâl (1875), he expressed his reaction to oppression and persecution in a dramatic way. In Celaleddin Harzemşah (1876), Kemal described Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah's, the last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire, life, heroism and struggle to protect the Turkish-Islamic world against the Mongols. In Kara Bela (Black Misfortune), the palace life and intrigues are told. In literary works, the way a content is presented is equally important as the content's importance. The fiction created by a writer by connecting events or actions and the narrative techniques used in the presentation of the subject are valuable in terms of capturing the content-form harmony of the literary work. In pieces based on dialogues and monologues, writers are supposed to give information such as the movements and moods of the characters or sound and light of the characters outside of the dialogues. Sometimes a person who communicates with the reader and the audience and gives them information about the piece might be needed. In the pieces that make up the literary dimension of the theatre, the writer uses the narrator to meet this need. Namık Kemal's theatrical works, which are the subject of our study, will be examined under three main headings, excluding the introduction and conclusion sections. The ways in which the elements to be examined will be handled will be evaluated under sub-headings. In the second part of our study, Vatan yahut Silistre, Zavallı Çocuk, Gülnihâl, Celâleddin Harzemşah, Kara Bela and Akif Bey will be examined in terms of "fiction." In the third part, these works will be examined in terms of "narrator." In the fourth part, the same pieces will be discussed in terms of "expression techniques." The results will be evaluated in the conclusion part.