Şiir, tercüme, fabl, tiyatro, makale, eleştiri gibi edebî türlerde eserler veren Şinasi, Yeni Türk edebiyatının öncü isimlerindendir. Doğu ve Batı kültürüne vakıf olan Şinasi, Doğu ve Batı medeniyetlerinin tecrübelerini kaynaştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Onun bu amaç doğrultusunda kaleme aldığı eserlerden biri de Şair Evlenmesi adlı tiyatro oyununudur. Türk Edebiyatında yayımlanan ilk tiyatro eseri olarak kabul edilen Şair Evlenmesi'nde Şinasi, klasik Batı komedyası ile seyirlik halk oyunlarının özelliklerini bir arada sunmuştur. Böylece o, Batılı tarzda bir tiyatro oyununun milli değerleri ve özellikleri göz ardı etmeden de yazılabileceği gerçeğini göstermiştir. Şinasi, Karagöz ve ortaoyununda olduğu gibi kelimelerin yanlış anlaşılması ve telaffuz edilmesine dayanan kelime oyunlarına, kinaye, nükte, kafiyelendirme, ironi ve benzetme yoluna giderek eserine mizahî bir hava vermiştir. O, eserindeki oyun kişilerini yine seyirlik halk oyunlarında yer alan tiplerle benzer özelliklerde sunmuş, bunu yaparken halk kültürüne ait evlenme âdetlerini, müziği, atasözü, deyim, dua ve beddua gibi kalıplaşmış sözleri başarılı bir şekilde kullanmıştır. Bütün bunları gerçekleştirirken o, toplumdaki aksaklıkları da eleştirmekten de geri durmamıştır. Şair Evlenmesi'nde halk biliminin unsurlarını inceleyen bu çalışma, mizahî unsurlar, kişiler, evlenme âdetleri, müzik, sosyal eleştiri, kalıplaşmış sözler çerçevesinde oluşmuştur. Bu çalışma ile Osmanlı Devleti'nin yüzünü Batı'ya döndüğü bir dönemde, 1859 yılında, Şinasi'nin içinde yer aldığı kültürü yok saymadan yenilikçilik adına önemli bir adım atmış olduğu gösterilmiştir

Şinasi who produced literary works in the different genres such as poetry, translation, fable, theater, article, criticism is one of the most important characters in Contemporary Turkish Literature. Şinasi who knew the eastern and the western cultures aimed at combining the experiences of the eastern and the western civilizations. In Şair Evlenmesi which is considered the first theatre play in the Turkish Literature, Şinasi presented together with the characteristics of the classic western comedy and the Turkish traditional folk theatre. Thus he demonstrated the fact that a western style theatre can be written without ignoring the national values. Like in Karagoz and ortaoyunu, Şinasi made humour with the way of misunderstanding and mispronouncing of the words, allusion, wit, rhyme, irony and simile. He offered the play persons in similar features with the types of the Turkish traditional folk theatre. While he was doing this, he used the marriage customs, the music, the proverbs, the idioms, the prayers and the curse used in the Turkish folklore successfully. And also he criticized the shortcomings of the society. This study examined the elements of folklore in Şair Evlenmesi was formed in the framework of the humorous elements, the persons, the marriage customs and the stereotyped words. In this study, it was shown that Şinasi made innovation in Turkish literature without ignoring the cultural values in the period of the Ottoman Empire returned its face to the West. STRUCTURED ABSTRACT Under the title of humorous elements, Şair Evlenmesi has been examined from the aspects of the pun, the allusion, the wit, the rhyme, the irony and the simile employed in it. The pun is commonly used in the traditional Turkish theatre. The characters of Karagöz and Middle Plays misunderstand and mispronounce the words. These misunderstanding and mispronouncing depend on phonetic similarities. The words are used by chancing the prefixes or suffixes. For example, the person misunderstands the word “hünerim” which means “my ability” and he responds the addressees with the word “fenerim” which means “my lantern”. It is possible to see same changing in Şair Evlenmesi. Müştak Bey says “ferasetli adam” but Batak Ese understands it as “feres atlı adam”. On the other hand, the characters in the traditional Turkish theatre mispronounce the words because they are uneducated. For example Karagöz transforms the word “silsile” meaning “pedigree” to “sinsile” which does not have any meaning. In Şair Evlenmesi, Batak Ese who came to İstanbul from Anatolia and is an uneducated person pronounces “tiyatro” which means “theatre” as “tarator” which does not have any meaning and “maskara” which means “buffoon” as “mashara” which does not any meaning. To put it simply, Şinasi employs humor by using the misunderstanding and mispronouncing the words like in Karagöz and Middle Play. What is different from the traditional Turkish Theatre is that Şinasi does not overdo them until the audience annoy. One of the humorous features of “Şair Evlenmesi” is the allusion. The obscene meanings of the words are used in Karagöz and Middle Play. This method is also used by Şinasi in Şair Evlenmesi. Thus, he reflects the Turkish people’s speech to his achievement. There are witty sentences in the traditional Turkish theatre. The persons in Şair Evlenmesi talk with the witty sentences. It is possible to see the irony in Karagöz and Middle Play because the swindlers live comfortably. In Şair Evlenmesi, Ebullaklaka is an imam and he is supposed to be honest. But he receives bribes and causes Müştak Bey to marry the woman he does not love. Besides, it can be said that the simile is used for humor as in Karagöz and Middle Play in Şair Evlenmesi. Under the title of persons, Müştak Bey reflects the feature of Karagöz and Kavuklu who have important role in the traditional Turkish theatre. And also Hikmet Efendi reflects the features of Hacivat and Pişekar who are characters of the traditional Turkish theatre. Like Karagöz, Müştak Bey faces some problems and Hikmet Efendi helps him as Hacivat does. Hacivat and Pişekar know how a person must live in a society and Hikmet Efendi behaves as they do. The women in the traditional Turkish theatre have their places in the center of the intrigue. And they act in a way that does not suit the ethics of the society. Ziba Dudu and Habbe Kadın who are the characters in Şair Evlenmesi get on with Müştak Bey about his marriage. According to the agreement they will help Müştak Bey to marry a beautiful girl, Kumru Hanım. But they lie him and he marries an ugly and old woman, Kumru Hanım’s elder sister, Sakine Hanım. The Anatolian types coming to İstanbul from other Anatolian cities have places in Karagöz and Middle Play with their own speech forms and uneducated personalities. Like these persons, Batak Ese and Atak Köse with their peculiar speech forms unsuitable to Turkish spoken in İstanbul create the humorous atmosphere in Şair Evlenmesi. In the traditional Turkish life, there is a fact named “Görücülük”. A delegation consisting of women helps boys and girls to marry. In Şair Evlenmesi, Ziba Dudu and Habbe Kadın perform this task. The music is employed to entertain the audience and to distract the attention of them properly in the traditional Turkish theatre. In Şair Evlenmesi, it is used as a gift of Müstak Bey for his beloved girl, Kumru Hanım. There is social criticism in a humorous way in Karagöz and Middle Play. Şinasi criticizes the people getting married without knowing each other and he criticizes the imams ignoring the moral values of the society. The stereotyped expressions have places in the Turkish folklore. These are mostly proverbs, idioms, prayers and curses. Şinasi prefers to use them according to the subject and the mood of the speech.