Sonnet in the 21st century: George Szirtes’s sonnet sequences

Hayli köklü bir şiir yazım türü olan sone, İngiliz edebiyatındaki popülaritesinden fazla bir şey kaybetmemiştir. İmge merkezli anlatım tarzı, görsel olarak güçlü ifadeler, yerel renklerin kul- lanımı ve bireysellik gibi modern şiirin eğilimleriyle harmanlanan sone özellikle yirmibirinci yüzyılın ikinci yarısından itibaren kendini ifade etmenin ve bireyselliğin önemli bir yolu haline gelmiş görünmektedir. Binyılın sonunda doğru İngiliz dilinde yazılmış bir çok sone içinde Ge- orge Szirtes’in “versiyonları” günümüz İngiliz şiiri içinde sone türünün tecrübe ettiği yeni eği- limler açısından önemlidir. Kafiye ve uyak gibi geleneksel öğeleri açık sözlü bir üslup ve şiir- sel duyarlılıkla birleştiren Szirtes, soneye yeni bir bakış getirebilen nadir şairlerdendir. Yaratıcı tekniklere olan ilgisini İngiltere’de mülteci olarak geçirdiği çocukluğundan Macar köklerine kadar farklı konular ile bağdaştırarak, Szirtes zamanının önde gelen sone yazarlarından birisi olarak göze çarpmaktadır. Bu çalışma, günümüz sone yazınındaki gelişmelere göndermeler yaparak, George Szirtes’in Reel ve the Budapest File başlıklı şiir derlemelerindeki soneleri incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma daha çok çeşitli sonelerin biçembilimsel ve tematik ince- lemesine yoğunlaşarak, Szirtes’in şiirsel, yapısal ve içerik bakımından tercihleriyle, yine şairin günümüz İngiliz şiirinde sonenin yerine dair fikirlerine değinecektir.

21.yy’da sone: George Szirtes’in soneleri

The sonnet, a highly established poetic form, has lost little from its popularity in English literature. Blended with modern poetic tendencies like image-centered diction, visually powerful expression, use of local colours, and idiosyncrasy, the sonnet seems to be a powerful way of self-expression and individuality especially after the second half of the twentieth century. Among the many sonnets written in English at the end of the millennium George Szirtes’s ‘versions’ are significant in terms of the new predispositions the sonnet has experienced within contemporary British poetry. Combining traditional sonnet qualities like rhyme and meter with a straightforward diction and poetic precision, Szirtes is one of those few poets who manage to bring a fresh look to the sonnet. Adding his interest in innovative technicalities to his ability to bring together varied subject matters from his childhood as a refugee in England to his Hungarian connections, Szirtes stands out as one of the noteworthy sonneteers of our time. This study intends to analyse George Szirtes’s sonnet sequences in his poetry collections Reel and the Budapest File with reference to contemporary developments concerning sonnet writing. The study will basically focus on a stylistic and thematic analysis of a number of sonnets and will deal with Szirtes’s poetic, structural, contextual preferences along with his ideas on sonnet’s place in contemporary British poetry.

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