Abstract
Study on The Origins of Metaphors Related to Violet in Classical Turkish Poetry
The image of heaven has an important part in depictions
of places in classical Turkish poetry. In this perception of
poetry, the beloved ideal person is the symbol of beauty and
it is addressed together with heaven, which is the symbol of
the beauty of an ideal place. Rose is in the center of heavenly
garden depictions in classical Turkish poetry, so it is
the flower of heaven. Although rose has been the main flower
of this idealized garden, together with other flowers,
violet has also found its place and has even become the redif
(repeated voice) of some poems.
Violet has mostly been used with metaphors about poetsingers
in classical Turkish poetry, and it has taken roles
such as scent, color and shape characteristics. Because of
its purple color close to black, it has been used in metaphors
related to hair, spots on body, feather and mourning, and
because it is close to the ground and it has a bent neck, it
has been associated with humbleness and obedience. The
aim of this research is to find the mythological causes of the
related similarities. When the narration of Cybele and
Attis, originally a Phrygian goddess, is combined with its
Greek, Roman and Sicilian variants, there will be more
emphasize on situations in which a considerable part of
violet metaphors coincides in classical poetry.
Keywords
violet, classical Turkish poetry, mythology, Cybele, Attis.