Mountain in modern Turkish poetry (1860-1908)

Nature was the inevitable ingredient of legends and sagas and it was believed to have several mysteries in it. Hence, for mankind, it has a significant function as a symbol in religious and cultural perspective. Although the nature had been respected by man, with the arrival of modern times, its magic was broken and with the advancing science, it turned out to be something to control by man who could control almost anything. Then, romanticism emerges as a reaction to the actions of radical reasoning. One of the results of romanticism is to bring about the respect for the nature and the idea that all the beauties are hidden in it. This rebellious approach is reflected upon art as well and nature turns out to be a limitless space that nurtures the creative inspiration. For Romantics, nature and its elements are sources of imagery and they aim to aestheticize the pure appearance of it through words and brushstroke. Even though we see the use of nature and especially the image of mountain in Folk Literature densely, it is hard to see it in Classical Turkish Poetry that seeks the reality. After 1860 which is named Modern Turkish Literature, Turkish poets' using nature and the image of mountain more frequently comes out with their introduction to Romanticism. In this dissertation, I will study the image of mountain within the framework of Romanticism in Turkish Poetry between 1860 and 1908.In the introduction chapter, the purpose, the significance, and the method of the study are given. In the first chapter, the symbolic meanings of mountain in Turkish Mythology, in the mythologies of the cultures that Turks had interacted with, and in Abrahamic religions are given and after that the general overlook of image of mountain in Turkish Folk Poetry and Classical Poetry is studied. In the second chapter which stands as the teoretical underpinning of the dissertation, Romanticism is introduced and the relation of Modern Turkish Poetry with nature and Romanticism is examined. In the third chapter, I aim to demonstrate that the image of mountain in Modern Turkish Poetry is rooted in Romanticism. Keywords: Mountain, Turkish Poetry, Romanticism, Tanzimat Period, Constitutional Monarchy II.