This study examines Mehmed Selahaddin’s Gonca-i Hayatım within the aesthetic and intellectual characteristics of the Ara Nesil, centering on the duality that became pronounced in post-Tanzimat Turkish poetry. In Ara Nesil poetry, formal continuity coexists with a transformation in sensibility; it maintains ties with Divan poetry while bearing traces of a new, romantic and individualist poetics. Using a text-centered approach, the poems are analyzed on the planes of expression and content, and the style–meaning relationship is made concrete through repetition, parallelism, and foregrounding. Thematic patterns are identified through conceptual parallelisms, and their discursive functioning is revealed. The findings show that, although Divan aesthetics largely persist, poems in which the new sensibility comes to the fore in both form and content are also present, demonstrating the ongoing tension between old and new. To contribute to literary history, the study additionally provides a transcription to enhance access to the text.
Ara Nesil, Gonca-i Hayatım, Tanzimat poetry, dualism.