FELİCİA HEMANS VE JAMES CLARENCE MANGAN’IN ŞİİRLERİNDE ABBASİ DÖNEMİ VE BERMEKÎLER

Abstract

Starting in the Medieval Period, the inclusion and vast use of technological and cultural elements previously used in Islamic lands affected the technical and conceptual lives of peoples who lived in Europe. One of the aspects that profoundly affected Europe was the literary richness of Islamic civilizations. This study focuses on how two 19th century poets conceptualized the zenith of the Abbasid period during which the Barmakids held administrative power. By looking closely at Felicia Hemans' poem titled The Mourner for the Barmecides and James Clarence Mangan's poem titled The Time of the Barmecides, the poets' conceptualizations of the West and the East are examined through a content analytical procedure. While doing that, symbolic meanings ascribed to the Barmakids are scrutinized. Analyses of both poems reveal that as Mangan was passionate about Ireland's freedom against England's hostile existence in Ireland, he was equally frustrated by the Irish governments' lack of proper stance against the colonialist Kingdom. Similarly, although she was a supporter of the British monarchy, Hemans sought a more assertive nationalist and conservative government, as seen in her poetry.