POETRY AS A REPRESENTATION OF TURKISH IDENTITY
Abstract
Poetry is one of the most important art expression in understanding Turkish identity. The aim of this paper is to show that the growth and development of Turkish poetry is in line with the dynamic identity of the Turkish nation. The period of Turkish poetry began with the growth of oral poetry which depicted the heroic of Turkish ancestors who are migrants from the Central Asia. The period continued with the emergence and development of Islam carrying the influence of Arabic and Persian languages which embedded in Turkish poems and replaced the role of poetry from being a folklore to become the elite literature. The next period is the modern poetry which showed the alteration of reference of Turkish poetry from the East to the West. Thus, poetry reflects Turkish people’s rhythm of expression.
Moraref