Feyyaz Kayacan is one of the important yet relatively lesser-known figures of Turkish literature. He began his literary career with poetry and continued with short stories, novels, and drama. Kayacan, who holds a distinctive place within the “1950 Generation” particularly through his contributions to the short story genre, attached great importance to form and structure while portraying the loneliness, helplessness, and psychological distress of the modern individual in an ironic tone. He sustained this ironic mode of expression in his plays as well. Although his identity as a short story writer has been widely discussed, his work as a dramatist, consisting of a single book, has remained in the background. Yet his plays are as significant as his short fiction and constitute an essential component that completes his artistic oeuvre. Irony is the key concept of this component. This study examines the ironic discourse in Kayacan’s dramatic texts. First, the concept of irony is outlined through its principal types and contemporary definitions, thereby establishing the theoretical framework. Subsequently, the author’s plays are analyzed; these plays constitute the scope of the study. The analyses reveal that the author employs irony as a functional instrument to draw attention to both social and individual issues. In Kayacan’s theatre, as in his short stories, irony can be regarded as a fundamental narrative strategy.
Feyyaz Kayacan, generation of 50, Mutlu Azınlık, irony