1
TANZIMAT’S LITERARY METAMORPHOSIS
Semester: Fall 2023-2024 Student ID:
Course Code and Name:
Student Name-Surname:
TLL 101 –K2Y
Turkish Language and Literature I
Exam Type: Online Take Home Midterm Exam Exam Grade: /20
Exam Duration: 23-26 November 2023 word count: 1455 without refrences
Instructor Name-Surname and Signature:
Tanzimat’s Literary Metamorphosis
Literature during the Tanzimat period played crucial role. On one hand, it was used to
send messages regarding socio-political changes while on the other hand, it was used as a tool to
criticize those changes. Ibrahim Şinasi, one of the writers during the early Tanzimat periods,
with Wedding of a Poet, became the first writer to introduce a European-style stage piece written
in ordinary Turkish. Another well-known author during the early Tanzimat period was Ahmet
Midhat. One of his most successful pieces, Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, was known for its
satirical critique of the social and cultural change taking place during the Tanzimat period.
Samipasazade Sezai was an author in the late Tanzimat period well known for his successful
introduction of short stories in Turkish literature and bringing realism to Turkish novels. In this
essay, we use their literary pieces to discuss the development of Tanzimat literature.
In this essay, the discussion will be based on how initially the common theme in literature
used to be a message or criticism to be conveyed to a population, as interpreted from the
Wedding of a Poet and Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, but eventually, a wider range of themes
was adopted and persona progression became one of the main focus of literary pieces, as
understood from Sezai’s Pantomime. First, the change in purpose and theme of Tanzimat
literature will be discussed, keeping in mind the public mindset and approach towards literature
, 2
TANZIMAT’S LITERARY METAMORPHOSIS
in that period. Second, we’ll inspect the literary elements: characterization and setting, and
elaborate using examples from literary works. Next, we’ll observe the change in other literary
elements, namely, the narrative technique and the point of view. Lastly, to conclude we’ll look at
the proposition in a broader context to understand why the changes happened when they did and
what we can conclude from them.
The Tanzimat literature saw a gradual change from being entirely focused on reformist
messages to developing and adopting a more artistic style in the later years. In the early
Tanzimat years, the sole purpose of literature was considered to be to address and bring light to
issues like the debate between tradition and modernization, inequality, injustice, and European
influence. Some authors of this era also used themes such as nationalism to show patriotism and
express ideas about unity and national identity. This was especially necessary since the state,
during this time, was facing issues regarding discrimination between different communities and
religious groups and authors of the time saw the need to improve the situation. There were also
mixed reactions reaction from the public to the Westernization policies hence why works during
that time focused on showing the positive and negative effects of these policies. Wedding of the
Poet reflects on the tension between tradition and modernity with the metaphor of a wedding in a
humorous and satirical way and “purports to show the impatience of the new men with old
practices, satirizing go-betweens and arranged marriages” (Şinasi,1859,p.240). In Felatun Bey
and Rakim Efendi, we see a similar contrast between tradition and modernity but this time we
have a character, Rakim Efendi, who is described to be the ideal combination of traditional and
modern by the description that “the food he eats, the people who inhabit his home, the way he
manages his domestic arrangements, are all Ottoman rather than European.” (Midhat, 1875,
p.152)
Moving on to the theme and purpose of literary works during the later Tanzimat years,
we see that entertainment and realism are now the key themes of literature along with
individualism. The public now is introduced to writings that incorporate storylines with complex
feelings and character development, moving beyond the strict focus of reform. Taking
‘Pantomime’ as an example, we see that the storyline contains no obvious symbolism of the
TANZIMAT’S LITERARY METAMORPHOSIS
Semester: Fall 2023-2024 Student ID:
Course Code and Name:
Student Name-Surname:
TLL 101 –K2Y
Turkish Language and Literature I
Exam Type: Online Take Home Midterm Exam Exam Grade: /20
Exam Duration: 23-26 November 2023 word count: 1455 without refrences
Instructor Name-Surname and Signature:
Tanzimat’s Literary Metamorphosis
Literature during the Tanzimat period played crucial role. On one hand, it was used to
send messages regarding socio-political changes while on the other hand, it was used as a tool to
criticize those changes. Ibrahim Şinasi, one of the writers during the early Tanzimat periods,
with Wedding of a Poet, became the first writer to introduce a European-style stage piece written
in ordinary Turkish. Another well-known author during the early Tanzimat period was Ahmet
Midhat. One of his most successful pieces, Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, was known for its
satirical critique of the social and cultural change taking place during the Tanzimat period.
Samipasazade Sezai was an author in the late Tanzimat period well known for his successful
introduction of short stories in Turkish literature and bringing realism to Turkish novels. In this
essay, we use their literary pieces to discuss the development of Tanzimat literature.
In this essay, the discussion will be based on how initially the common theme in literature
used to be a message or criticism to be conveyed to a population, as interpreted from the
Wedding of a Poet and Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, but eventually, a wider range of themes
was adopted and persona progression became one of the main focus of literary pieces, as
understood from Sezai’s Pantomime. First, the change in purpose and theme of Tanzimat
literature will be discussed, keeping in mind the public mindset and approach towards literature
, 2
TANZIMAT’S LITERARY METAMORPHOSIS
in that period. Second, we’ll inspect the literary elements: characterization and setting, and
elaborate using examples from literary works. Next, we’ll observe the change in other literary
elements, namely, the narrative technique and the point of view. Lastly, to conclude we’ll look at
the proposition in a broader context to understand why the changes happened when they did and
what we can conclude from them.
The Tanzimat literature saw a gradual change from being entirely focused on reformist
messages to developing and adopting a more artistic style in the later years. In the early
Tanzimat years, the sole purpose of literature was considered to be to address and bring light to
issues like the debate between tradition and modernization, inequality, injustice, and European
influence. Some authors of this era also used themes such as nationalism to show patriotism and
express ideas about unity and national identity. This was especially necessary since the state,
during this time, was facing issues regarding discrimination between different communities and
religious groups and authors of the time saw the need to improve the situation. There were also
mixed reactions reaction from the public to the Westernization policies hence why works during
that time focused on showing the positive and negative effects of these policies. Wedding of the
Poet reflects on the tension between tradition and modernity with the metaphor of a wedding in a
humorous and satirical way and “purports to show the impatience of the new men with old
practices, satirizing go-betweens and arranged marriages” (Şinasi,1859,p.240). In Felatun Bey
and Rakim Efendi, we see a similar contrast between tradition and modernity but this time we
have a character, Rakim Efendi, who is described to be the ideal combination of traditional and
modern by the description that “the food he eats, the people who inhabit his home, the way he
manages his domestic arrangements, are all Ottoman rather than European.” (Midhat, 1875,
p.152)
Moving on to the theme and purpose of literary works during the later Tanzimat years,
we see that entertainment and realism are now the key themes of literature along with
individualism. The public now is introduced to writings that incorporate storylines with complex
feelings and character development, moving beyond the strict focus of reform. Taking
‘Pantomime’ as an example, we see that the storyline contains no obvious symbolism of the
