Hekayati Molla Ibrahim-Khalil Kimyagar ( az, Hekayəti-Molla İbrahim Xəlil kimyagər, en, Story of chemist Mullah Ibrahim-Khalil ) is the first comedy of the Azerbaijani writer and playwright

Mirza Fatali Akhundov Mirza Fatali Akhundov ( az, Mirzə Fətəli Axundov; fa, میرزا فتحعلی آخوندزاده), also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, pla ...

, written in 1850 in the

Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani () or Azeri (), also referred to as Azeri Turkic or Azeri Turkish, is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan where the North Azerbaija ...

. According to Aziz Sharif, the comedy ridiculed the lovers of easy money - the citizens of

Nukha Shaki ( az, Şəki) is a city in northwestern Azerbaijan, surrounded by the district of the same name. It is located on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, from Baku. As of 2020, it has a population of 68,400. The center ...

, who believed in the alchemist’s power. At the same time, Sharif notes that a positive image is also derived in the comedy - the one of the poet Haji-Nuri, who considers his personal abilities and work to be the basis of a persons well-being. According to Hamid Algar, the dervish and mullah are the secondary targets of the satire in comedy, and Akhundov makes it clear in this play that he views religion as the equivalent of the superstition. Algar suggests that the Azerbaijani poet

Mirza Shafi Vazeh Mirza Shafi Vazeh ( az, Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh; ) was an Azerbaijani poet and teacher. Under the pseudonym "Vazeh", which means "expressive, clear", he wrote in both Azerbaijani and Persian, developing the traditions of poetry in both languages ...

could have been the prototype of the poet Haji-Nuri. Yashar Garaev and Fuad Gasimzade write that by creating the image of the poet Haji-Nuri in the artistic world of Akhundov, “the birth of light forces in society is also captured”.

References

{{reflist 1850 plays Azerbaijani-language literature Works by Mirza Fatali Akhundzade

See also

References