Literature of the Turkish Theatre from Tanzimat Era until the Republican Era
This article is an attempt to explain the developmental process of the Turkish theater during the years following the reforms (tanzimat) and the constitutional monarchy (mesrutiyet). In our venture for westernization, the theater has constituted a prolific genre in terms of both production and translations. In these years, many plays were penned either to be produced on stage or simply to be read. In the reformation years, primary importance was attributed to the principle of social benefit in the theater, which went hand in hand with the spirit of the era. However, theater, too, suffered from the oppressive tendencies of the despotic regime, and it was forbidden in 1884 after the play of Ahmet Mithat entitled Çerkez Özdenler until the declaration of the 2nd constitutional monarchy in 1908. In the subsequent atmosphere of freedom, theater experienced a rapid progress. This rapid progress resulted in an increase in the theater critiques, which started to constitute a significant place within the newspapers and magazines of the period. In the second part of the article, an attempt has been made to provide an alphabetical list of theater critiques written during the periods of reforms and constitutional monarchy as well as the following years until the contemporary times.
ŞAHİKA KARACA
