Information Package / Course Catalogue
Prosody, Rhyme, and Literary Devices
Course Code: İST502
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: Second Cycle (Master's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

To equip students with the ability to analyze poetic works written in the field of Turkish-Islamic Literature in terms of meter, rhyme, and literary devices; to enable students to master the basic principles of the science of prosody (aruz) and its main metrical patterns, identify rhyme and redif (repeated words/syllables after rhyme), and interpret the functions of literary devices in poetic language and the semantic world of poetry.

Course Content

Elements of harmony in poetry; fundamental principles of the science of prosody (aruz); major aruz meters (bahir) and patterns; dividing couplets into metrical feet (tef'ile) and identifying the meter; rhyme (kafiye) and redif; branches of the science of rhetoric (belagat); simile, metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, and other arts of expression (beyan); figures of speech and figures of thought; classical metaphor (mazmun) and image; practical applications of identifying meter, rhyme, and literary devices on selected ghazals and qasidas.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes
1.Comprehends the fundamental principles of aruz prosody (open-closed syllables, metrical feet, imale, zihaf, med, vasl) and accurately applies scansion (takti') on poetic texts.
2.Recognizes the widely used aruz meters and patterns in Divan poetry, accurately determining the meter of various poetic texts encountered.
3.Identifies rhyme and redif, which provide harmony in poetry, according to their structural features; explains rhyme types, rhyme letters, and defects.
4.Comprehends the basic classification of rhetoric (meani, beyan, bedi) and analyzes the meaning- and word-based literary figures (figures of speech) present in classical poetry.
5.Interprets the function of literary figures, motifs (mazmun), and images within the semantic world of poetry; conducts comprehensive meter, rhyme, and literary art analyses on selected texts (ghazal, qasida, etc.).
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Bilgegil, M. Kaya. Edebiyat Bilgi ve Teorileri (Belâgat) [Literary Knowledge and Theories (Rhetoric)]. Istanbul: Enderun Bookstore.
2.Dilçin, Cem. Örneklerle Türk Şiir Bilgisi [Turkish Poetics with Examples]. Ankara: TDK Publications.
3.İpekten, Haluk. Eski Türk Edebiyatı Nazım Şekilleri ve Aruz [Poetic Forms and Prosody in Old Turkish Literature]. Istanbul: Dergâh Publications.
4.Kurnaz, Cemal and Çeltik, Halil. Divan Şiiri Şekil Bilgisi [Formal Structure of Divan Poetry]. Istanbul: H Publications.
5.Levend, Agâh Sırrı. Divan Edebiyatı: Kelimeler ve Remizler, Mazmunlar ve Mefhumlar [Divan Literature: Words and Symbols, Motifs and Concepts]. Istanbul: Dergâh Publications.
6.Macit, Muhsin. Divan Şiirinde Ahenk Unsurları [Elements of Harmony in Divan Poetry]. Ankara: Akçağ Publications.
7.Onay, Ahmet Talat. Eski Türk Edebiyatında Mazmunlar ve İzahı [Classical Metaphors and Their Explanations in Old Turkish Literature]. Ankara: Akçağ Publications.
8.Saraç, Yekta. Klasik Edebiyat Bilgisi: Belâgat [Knowledge of Classical Literature: Rhetoric]. Istanbul: Gökkubbe Publications.
9.Saraç, Yekta. Klasik Edebiyat Bilgisi: Biçim–Ölçü–Kafiye [Knowledge of Classical Literature: Form–Meter–Rhyme]. Istanbul: Gökkubbe Publications.
10.Yetiş, Kâzım. "Belâgat" ["Rhetoric"]. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi [TDV Encyclopedia of Islam].
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Introduction to the course; elements of harmony in poetry; metrical systems in Turkish poetry; birth and development of the science of prosody (aruz).
Week 2 - Theoretical
Fundamental Principles of Aruz: Open-closed syllables, short-long syllables, metrical feet (tef'ile); prosodic applications (imale, zihaf, med, vasl).
Week 3 - Theoretical
Dividing Couplets into Metrical Feet (takti') and Identifying Meter: Basic exercises.
Week 4 - Theoretical
Major Aruz Meters (Bahir) and Patterns.
Week 5 - Theoretical
Major Aruz Meters (Bahir) and Patterns.
Week 6 - Theoretical
Rhyme and Redif: Definition, rhyming letters, types of rhymes and rhyming defects.
Week 7 - Theoretical
Identification of Rhyme and Redif; text exercises on sound repetitions and elements of harmony.
Week 8 - Theoretical
Science of Rhetoric: Eloquence (fesahat) and rhetoric (belagat); classification of the sciences of semantics, expression, and embellishment.
Week 9 - Theoretical
Literary Devices I
Week 10 - Theoretical
Literary Devices II
Week 11 - Theoretical
Literary Devices III
Week 12 - Theoretical
Literary Devices IV
Week 13 - Theoretical
Classical metaphor (mazmun) and image; identification of meter, rhyme, and literary devices on a selected ghazal and qasida.
Week 14 - Theoretical
General Assessment
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Seminar1%5
Assignment1%5
Midterm Examination1%30
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory142370
Assignment35118
Presentation 35118
Midterm Examination110111
Final Examination113114
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)131
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
OÇ-1
5
4
2
4
3
2
OÇ-2
4
5
2
4
3
3
OÇ-3
5
4
2
3
3
2
OÇ-4
5
5
3
4
3
3
OÇ-5
4
5
3
5
4
5
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026