The renowned scholar, sheikhulislam, and statesman Yahya Efendi, who achieved fame not only for his statesmanship but also for his ghazals, is one of our significant poets who lived in 16-17th century. Although he has many works, the poet is primarily known for his Divan. This work has been evaluated from various perspectives. In one of the studies conducted about the Divan and which is also related to our topic, the work was examined in the context of the science of eloquence, and in the other in the direction of the arts of speech. However, it has been observed that the art of personification in the poems of the Divan has not been emphasized in these studies. Therefore, in this study, the focus is on how the poet handles words related to the sun within the framework of the art of personification. The study is limited to the examination of the words “sun, shams, hurshid, afitab, and mihr” in terms of personification. It is elucidated how these are approached in terms of the art of personification, how the poet assigns meanings to verses based on a particular art and entity, and attempts are made to determine how he personifies the sun by associating it with certain entities. Moreover, besides personification, other literary devices used in the verses related to the sun are also discussed, highlighting the richness of each verse in terms of literary devices. Couplets have explained using a meaning-based commentary method. Thus, the aim is to provide a closer understanding of the poet and his work in this context. Through this study, it is concluded that the sun is personified by the poet as a servant, lover, beloved, generous human helper, and even a wild animal, within the context of this subject matter.

Sheikhulislam Yahya, divan, sun, personification, literary arts.