What Is A Ghazal? by Leigh Allen “Ghazal” is a word in Arabic that means talking to women. A ghazal is a Persian poem of couplets, or “Shers,” in which each of the couplets can be considered a complete poem in itself. A ghazal may have five or more sets of couplets, or shers. The ghazal originated in Arabia and traveled to the Middle East and India, and lately to America. Often, one might set Ghazals to music and include many popular songs. They are also intended to be read as poetry.
Although ghazals can be on any subject, the tone of ghazals is traditionally one of longing and its topic is most often love. In addition, ghazals can be in any language– including English. Some English writers of ghazals include Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov and Robert Bly. There are numerous translations into English of Urdu ghazals and ghazals from other languages, but it can be difficult to get the whole picture from a translation of what, exactly, comprises a ghazal. Each line of each couplet must have the same meter and length (the same number of syllables). In addition, the first couplet, or “matla,” establishes the rhyme and refrain of the entire ghazal. The rhyme and refrain occurs in both lines of the first couplet, and must repeat in the second line of each following couplet. Therefore, the rhyming scheme would be: aa, ba, ca, da, ea, etc. There is also a complex (sometime) requirement of repetition of the entire first line of the first couplet and second line of the first couplet in different places towards the end of the poem. The ending couplet, or “maqta,” often contains the name or nom de plume of the poet. Here
is a famous ghazal by Agha Shahid Ali,
a Kashmiri-American poet who was a finalist for the National Book
Award, who died in 2001. Although ghazals traditionally
do not have titles, they sometimes become known by their refrains.
One may find this poem by Ali, entitled “Tonight”
in his volume of poetry, “Call Me Ishmael Tonight: a
Book of Ghazals (2004)”. In this poem, the
first two lines are the matla. The last two lines
are the maqta, containing the poet’s name, Shahid.
The refrain is the word “tonight’, and the rhymes that occur before
the word “tonight” are: spell, expel, tell, cell, fell, infidel,
spell, Hell, knell, infidel, Jezebel, gazelle, farewell, and Ishmael. Tonight Those “Fabrics of Cashmere--“
”to make Me beautiful--“ I beg for haven: Prisons,
let open your gates– God’s vintage loneliness
has turned to vinegar– Lord, cried out
the idols, Don’t let us be broken Mughal ceilings, let
your mirrored convexities He’s freed some fire
from ice in pity for Heaven. In the heart’s veined
temple, all statues have been smashed God, limit these punishments,
there’s still Judgment Day– Executioners near the
woman at the window. The hunt is over, and
I hear the Call to Prayer My rivals for your love–
you’ve invited them all? And I, Shahid, only
am escaped to tell thee– This is the most achingly beautiful ghazal I have read yet. It is also a perfect ghazal form. Many of the American English writers of ghazals do not follow all the traditional rules, and they call their ghazals “open ghazals” or “non-traditional ghazals.” Adrienne Rich has written several series of ghazals, including “Ghazals: Homage to Ghalib" and "The Blue Ghazals," both of which are included in her collected poems, The Fact of a Doorframe (W.W. Norton 2002).
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As
a musical form, ghazals have existed for several centuries.
Many of the songs heard in Indian cinema until the mid 1970's
were ghazals. In India, ghazals of singing had accompaniments
of ragas--sitar and tabla. They are still very popular.
One famous singer of ghazals is Habib Wali Mohammed.
Bibliography
