The Ghazal Form

The ghazal (pronounced as something between 'guzzle' and 'huzzle') is a lyric form traditionally used in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu poetry. In the last 30 years, many poets writing in English have appropriated it, treating the rules more or less elastically. It was also used by some of the German Romantics two centuries before.

The basic elements are the refrain (radif), the rhyme (qafia), the couplet (sher), each occurring in a particular way in this form.

The basic unit is the couplet (sher), with a minimum of five couplets in the poem (and usually no more than 12). What is notable is that each should have an autonomy, an independence—hence the metaphor of five rooms in a house. Traditionally, there is no enjambment between couplets and there are a similar number of feet in each line of a couplet (keeping in mind that all the rules have been variously broken). With each couplet you can visit a new taste; often a theme or coherence of imagery develops.

The refrain (radif)—a short phrase, pair of words, or single word—occurs at the end of both lines in the opening couplet (which has its own name, matla), and then in only the second line of each succeeding couplet. See the following page for examples.

The rhyme (qafia)—if you choose to include it, and many writers in English don't—occurs just before the refrain. See the first example on the next page. Tough work in English, lots easier in Urdu or Spanish, I'd imagine.

The last element I'll mention is the makhta (signature couplet), which was traditionally how the poet added his/her name (penname, nickname, pseudonym, wordplay on name) into the last couplet to secure credit for him/herself in a culture of oral recitation. Some poets in English play with this (my four examples have this, but mostly by accident). Many poets just ignore this element.

For Urdu poetry, the Ghazal has often expressed longing, and this can be felt viscerally through the repetition of the refrain. To my mind, this repetition, plus the autonomous couplet, are the two elements of this form that are a gift to poets writing in English. The refrain you can turn around like an object, catching it in different lights, with each couplet.

You can also read a summary with links at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazal .

A collection of ghazals in English with some interesting commentary: Ravishing DisUnities, Agha Shahid Ali, ed., Hanover NH: Univ. Press of New England, 2000.