Abdulhak Hamid is a significant poet and playwright lived in the beginning of the 20^th century. He indroduced and adopted the Western literature to Turkish literature. He was born on 2^nd January 1852.

He is the grandson of Abdulhak Molla and son of famous historian and ambassador Hayrullah Efendi. Abdulhak Hamid while attending the secondary school he had taken private lessons from Yanyali Tahsin Hoca and Edremitli Bahaddin Hoca. In his 10^th year he went to Paris with his brother, the workplace of his father. He continued his education there and after he returned to Istanbul, he worked as a translator. One year later, he went to Tehran with his father whom appointed to the Ottoman Embassy there. He learnt Persian there. After, his father’s death he returned to Istanbul and entered a government office. In 1871, he married to Fatma. In 1876, he was appointed to Paris Embassy. In 1878, he published a play in Paris called “Nesteren”, in this play he revealed a riot against a tyrant ruler. As Sultan Abdulhamid was highly disturbed by this work, he was dismissed form his duty. In 1881, he was appointed to Georgia, in 1882 to Greece and in 1883 to Bombay. On their way to Istanbul from Bombay, his wife Fatma had died and buried in Beirut (1885).

With this sudden and early death Abdulhak wrote his masterpiece “Makber”. He returned to Istanbul. In 1914, he designated as a member of State Council. In 1920, he wen to Paris after the occupation of Istanbul. He lived with economical difficulties. Later, the Ankara Government invited him to Turkey and in 1928, he was elected the deputy of Ankara. This duty had continued until his death.

Abdulhak Hamid began to write poetry in 1870’s. In this period, he met with many writers as Ebuzziya Tevfik, Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem and Namik Kemal. He was highly influence by Shakespeare, Corneille and Racine. He change the classical forms of literature. In his poems, he revealed the daily life, nature and people. He wrote lyrics, epics and philosophical poetry. He died on 12^th April 1937, in Istanbul.

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