NIZAMI'S "LEYLI AND MAJNUN" MASNAVI AND THE ISSUES OF USING THE ARCHETYPE "PROTECTOR-HUNTER"
Ulkar BAKHSHIYEVA


Nizami Ganjavi is our source of pride, who speaks for himself in classical
Azerbaijani literature with his creativity, and makes our nation known in the world.
The poet's work has always been selected for its originality, both in terms of content
and form. Nizami's "Leyli and Majnun" masnavi contains elements of the "protectorhunter"
motif in the Turkish epic-mythological tradition. Nizami used the "protectorhunter"
archetype creatively according to his author's concept. Ganja's literary
environment played a big role in Nizami's commitment to folklore creativity. While
creating the poetic structure of the image of Majnun, the poet took advantage of the
legends and stories he heard in this environment since his childhood. In the article,
the reasons and roots of Nizami's reviving the image of Majnun with special care for
animals and turning him into their patron are investigated. We can confidently say
that such moments confirm the function of "protector-hunter" in the poetic structure
of Majnun's image. In the article, the main artistic-philosophical ideas that Nizami
wanted to convey in the masnavi were analyzed, the reasons why he wanted to
convey them using folklore-mythological motifs. The purpose of the author's use of
the "protector-hunter" archetype in the Turkish epic-mythological tradition for the
artistic embodiment of the philosophy of humanism in the poem is investigated in the
article. From the analysis in the article, we can conclude that Nizami Ganjavi is an
artist who is connected to the land, homeland, and national roots of Azerbaijan, so
the context of attachment to national values has permeated the spirit of all his
creativity. Adherence to the Turkish national spirit was felt. In the article, the reasons
for Nizami's systematic use of Turkish folklore and epic traditions in the creation of
"Khamsa" are investigated. It is possible to see epic elements in all the poems of the
poet.

Keywords: Nizami, Majnun, protector-hunter, humanism, myth