Abstract :
One of the important points in the examination of folk tales is investigating motifs and comparing these motifs with other folk tales motifs. The aim of this study was to compare motifs in the tales by Gunay Yıldız to motifs in those by Yaralı Mahmut. The common motifs of Yıldız’s tales were shepherds, hunting, marriage, marriage customs, falling in love, falling in love at first sight, love sickness, rich men, magic, dreams, drinking bade, loving in a dream world, deputy dervish, giving a name to child, change of luck and fate, assistant (old) woman, assistant (elderly) people, being fooled by fraud, deception by fraud, prayer, formalistic numbers, the expression of feelings with poetry, divine minstrels, father, mother and son and several fraternities, imprisoning (punishment), Pir, Hızır, thieves, going abroad to find love, explaining the things happened, the wedding ceremony and horse. The motifs of Yaralı Mahmut Hikayesi were disguise, wedding, love, bade drinking, love in the dream world, dervish, assistant (old) woman, assistant (elderly) people, pray, father mother and son, formalistic numbers, imprisoning, the expression of feelings through poetry, going abroad and returning to find the loved one and explaining the things happened. The common motifs of the four tales are wedding, love, love in the dream world, dream and bade, dervish, the expression of feelings with poetry, assistant (elderly) people, pray, father mother and son, giving name to a child, disguise, deception by fraud, Hızır, enigma. Many motifs were observed to be repeated in the same way or with very small differences in the tales.
