Abstract
Reading Classical Poetry With Kierkegaard: Stages of Existence And Stock Characters
Divan poetry contains a unique view of life, the
perception of the world and existence. The acceptable and
undesirable stock characters of this view of life are reflected
in the poem. The stock characters that are relevant to this
study are the false lover (ehl-i havâ, ehl-i heves), the ascetic
(zahid) and the lover (aashiq). The main features of these
stock characters can be determined in the Divan poetry
works. In this way, it is also possible to determine the
lifestyles that are accepted or condemned. On the other
hand, Kierkegaard, who deals with human existence forms
in three parts aesthetic, ethical and religious, represents
these three stages, chose characters from different fields
such as literature, music, history and mythology. In this
study, a comparison has been made between the three stock
characters of Divan poetry mentioned above and the stages
of existence of Kierkegaard. Accordingly, the immediate
hedonist of the aesthetic universe and ehl-i heves (people of
caprice), the moralistic type of the ethical universe and
zahid (the ascetic), the knight of faith of the religious stage
and aşık (lover) have been analyzed comparatively.
Thoughts have been put forward on how the similarity
between the stock characters in Divan poetry and the forms
of existence classified and described by Kierkegaard, whose
direct contact with the Divan poetry could not be
determined, can be interpreted.
Keywords
Kierkegaard, divan poetry, peole of caprice, lover, ascetic.