How Did Halit Ziya Read Shakespeare?

Abstract

Although it can be said that the influence of William Shakespeare from the early periods of modern Turkish literature was initially limited to the field of theatre, in time this influence spread to the field of fiction through the development of the novel. Accepted as a “master” by the writers of the Tanzimat period in the 1860s, Shakespeare exerted a strong influence on Turkish writers, especially novelists. From the 1890s to 1910s, Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil and Mehmet Rauf, two prominent novelists of the Servet-i Fünûn period, praised Shakespeare in their essays, referring to French literary historian Hippolyte Taine. Uşaklıgil’s interpretation of Shakespeare, who is considered the “founding father” of the Turkish novel, allows us to see Shakespeare’s influence on the development of modern Turkish literature. In his book Hikâye [The Novel] (published in 1891-1892), written to explain the history of the novel in the West and Turkish, Uşaklıgil did not include Shakespeare but when he started to teach at the university, he took a close interest in Shakespeare, and from 1909 onwards, he published essays on Shakespeare, along with other Western writers, in the magazine Servet-i Fünûn. In 1909, his main aim in these essays was to introduce Shakespeare to students and readers. Halit Ziya’s comprehensive essays on Shakespeare were published in 1941, entitled “English and French Poets and Authors: William Shakespeare” in the newspaper Son Posta. In these essays, Halit Ziya commented on Shakespeare as “a name considered the greatest genius in all world literature.” Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil does not include Shakespeare in 1892 but gives him a special place in 1909 and 1941. This means that the place given to Shakespeare in Halit Ziya’s literary universe has expanded over time. This influence, which can be traced in his essays, is not limited to Uşaklıgil. Between 1909 and 1941, Shakespeare received widespread attention in Türkiye. Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil not only acknowledges Shakespeare as a literary “genius” but considers him a “founder” in terms of his perspective on humanity. He claims that Shakespeare’s characters are not based on myths, as in ancient Greece, but on human emotions and actions. He finds the works of Shakespeare, who does not hesitate to show the evil side of humanity as well as its beauty, valuable as a reflection of reality. He praises Shakespeare’s ability to combine contrasts such as “tragedy and comedy”, “monarch and jester”, and “wisdom and madness”, which he sees as human passions. It is quite obvious that Halit Ziya’s appreciation of Shakespeare’s interpretation of humanity directly influenced Uşaklıgil’s portrayal of humanity in his novels.