Abstract
This paper aims to analyze Turkish modernist poet Nâzım Hikmet's architectural spaces in his poetry from the perspective of Paul Ricoeur's theory of architecture and literature to unfold their artistic impact. As an interdisciplinary field, the narratology of space is directly linked to architecture and literature mainly dealing with the described spaces in fiction. Phenomenology and cognitive research, on the other hand, provides a background for the emotional experience of space. Paul Ricoeur's parallelism of architecture and literature rooted in phenomenology will be interpreted from the perspective of narratology of space to provide the main methodology of the research. Paul Ricoeur's theory not only offers a temporal perspective of the need, design, and experience but also provides an interchangeable terminology for narrative spaces. Taking his configuration concept into account, the modernist Turkish poet Nâzım Hikmet's narrative spaces will be analyzed. Ricoeur's theory presents a fitting methodology due to the socio-political discourse and the communicability of Hikmet's poetry. His narrative spaces in different periods will be interpreted according to their emphasis on certain spatial aspects, namely, the emplotment, intelligibility, and context. It will be demonstrated how the spatial qualities of Hikmet's spaces generate corresponding artistic effects. In conclusion, it will be claimed that Hikmet's narrative architecture creates an artistic impact to be experienced by reproducing the main idea, acting as a separate symbol, or shifting the poem's context. The conclusions will also suggest a viewpoint of how narrative qualities may inspire architectural design due to its configurative artistic impact.
Highlights
Nâzım Hikmet was the first explicitly modernist poet in the young Turkish republic
Nâzım Hikmet's poetry after the mid-1930s has become a combination of the lyrical expression of the self and political functionalism
For Ricoeur, architecture is a mental space, capturing the interpretive experience of the locality by living in the space but he through an existentialist reflex, brings dwelling into the equation. His main contribution is to create a bridge between dwelling and thinking: the building itself as a designed object, which constructs another link to Hikmet, as his poetry is always addressed to someone: a lover, an intellectual rival, or the working class
Summary
Nâzım Hikmet was the first explicitly modernist poet in the young Turkish republic. Years in the Soviet Union as a student during the 1920s shaped Hikmet's understanding of the world as a political activist and molded him into a fine avant-garde poet. His work after mid-1930s manifests an extensive use of spaces as the container of the plot His stylistic shift to a plain language and realistic tone shaped spaces and places as a frame for the narrative while his historical epics and other poems written in prison showcase lively scenes. For Ricoeur, architecture is a mental space, capturing the interpretive experience of the locality by living in the space but he through an existentialist reflex, brings dwelling into the equation His main contribution is to create a bridge between dwelling (the given functional program of a building and basic evolutionary needs of human shelter) and thinking (the experience of space): the building itself as a designed object, which constructs another link to Hikmet, as his poetry is always addressed to someone: a lover, an intellectual rival, or the working class. What and in what context his spaces are used will lead us the way his narrative spaces bring the real-life needs and the reader’s experience together
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