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ABSTRACT

Lord Byron was one of many English writers who chose the East as the subject of their writings. However, his uniqueness stands in truly experiencing the region. Lord Byron, in his Grand Tour through Portugal, Spain, Malta, Albania and Greece, found a non-drying source for his writings. Above all, Balkan was the place where his muse dwelled. Sources that Balkan offered fascinated him and made him become a bridge between The East and the West.

This study aims to reveal Byron's depiction of this mystical world in his work, The Giaour, as the first poem of The Turkish Tales. Being familiar with the diversity of religions and nations in Balkan, Byron used more than one narrator in the poem. This narration is the subject of our study through which we tried to prove that the mentality is something that Balkan inhabitants share and it prevails over their religious belief.

Keywords: Lord Byron, Balkans, Narrator, Mentality.

LORD BYRON'UN "GÂVUR"DAKÎ GÍZEMLÍ DÜNYASI: BALKANLAR

ÖZET

Lord Byron Dogu'yu konu olarak seçen íngiliz yazarlanndandir. Ancak Byron'un özelligi, bu bölgeyi gerçekten tecrübe etmesine dayanir. Portekiz, ispanya, Malta, Arnavutluk ve Yunanistan'a yaptigi seyahatlerinde, yazilari için kurumayan bir kaynak bulmuçtur. Bilhassa Balkanlar onun ilham perisinin yattigi yerdir. Balkanlarin sundugu kaynaklar Byron'i büyülemiç ve onu Dogu ile Bati arasindaki bir köprü haline dônüçtürmüçtür.

Çaliçmammn amaci, Gâvur hikâyesinden hareketle Byron'un bu gizemli dünyasini göstermektir. Balkanlardaki dinî ve ulusal çeçitlemeyi göz önünde bulundurarak birden fazla anlatici kullanan Byron, bu anlaticilar vasitasiyla Balkanlilardaki genel anlayiçi vermeye çaliçir. Amacimiz, Lord Byron'un Balkanlarda karçilaçtigi gizemli dünyayi öne çikarmaktir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Lord Byron, Balkanlar, Anlatici, Mentalité.

1. Lord Byron's interest for Balkans

One of the works where Byron expressed his interest for Balkan is The Giaour. It is a poem written as a part of his The Turkish Tales. Published in 1813, it is the first of this series of romances which continues with: Bride of Abydos, The Corsair, Lara and The Siege of Corinth. The reason of being set in one group is similarity of the stories and Byron's mirroring of Balkan setting, society, mentality, life, battles, costumes, strength and weaknesses, in each and every one of them. Hence, this cultural clash between his own English and Balkan mentality is what made Byron's tales intriguing.

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