CULTURAL INTERACTION IN THE CONTEXT THE POEM OF AGE THIRTY-FIVE

Abstract

The influence of spreading and sharing of oral or written culture components on art and literature is undeniable. Knowledge transmission of societies (whether oral or written) as an important issue to be considered in literary research. Cultural features can be transfered from one society to another whether in thier original form or they may be changed. Sometimes they can be re-transferred to the source being changed. Some sources and research, similarly, suggest that Miracles which is one of the important literary genre of Turkish Literature was an inspiration for Divine Comedy written by Dante in the thirteenth century. On the other hand, Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı who is one of the important representative of the twentieth century Turkish Poetry has expressed his feelings in his poem of Age Thirty-five with the verses “Age Thirty-five! It’s half of the way. We are in the middle of life like Dante” by referring to Dante, too. This verse by Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı is considered by many people to imply that Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) died in his seventies and the poet referred to this. When dispersion ofculturefeatures and their transmission into other cultures and Dante’s birth and death dates are consşdered, this comment is open to discussion. In this study the question of “what the verse “We are in the middle of life like Dante” means, will be discussed within the context of transfer of culture features and Miracles and Divine Comedy and The poem of Age Thirty-five.