Reflection of Folk Beliefs and Beliefs Regarding Supernatural Beings in Divan Poetry

Abstract

The poets of divan poetry, which is an important poetry tradition in terms of conveying
the culture of the society in which it is located, were nourished by the culture in which
they were raised and included this culture in their poems. In this respect, it is possible
to see the cultural elements of the society, folk beliefs and beliefs hidden among their
artistic styles in their works. One of these folk beliefs and beliefs seen in poems is about
supernatural beings. Supernatural beings are generally associated with the unknown in
society. In this respect, these beings, which are the subject of poets’ poems, can also be
considered as curiosity towards the unknown. This study, examines how folk beliefs and
beliefs about supernatural beings are reflected in divan poetry through selecting poets
living in the 14th and 19th centuries and determining how these beliefs and beliefs were
reflected in divan poetry. The reason why the poets were selected without adhering to
any particular century or name is due to the desire to look at divan poetry from a holistic
perspective. Instead of examining the poems of the same century or a name, examining
the poems of poets who lived in various centuries; It is important to see to what extent
folk beliefs and beliefs about supernatural beings are reflected in divan poetry. As a result
of the study, it was seen that folk beliefs and beliefs about supernatural beings influenced
poets in all centuries, and poets included these beings in their poems. The important point
here is that poets processed these entities in parallel with the beliefs in folk culture. In this
context, it can be said that divan poetry was nourished by folk beliefs and beliefs in every
period. Considering that the subject of folk beliefs is within the research circle of folklore,
it will be seen that divan poetry is not far from folk culture. However, the fact that divan
poetry is nourished by folk culture is also an indication that it is not disconnected from
social life.