The Mind Creative SEP 2013
The “ghazal” is a form of poetry that is often seen as an expression of emotions like love and separation. However, the literal meaning of the word “ghazal” (derived from the Persian language) is “a dialogue with a loved one”.
This ancient poetic form dates back to 6th century and the structural requirements of the ghazal are similar in stringency to those of the Petrarchan sonnet. It is also one of the principal poetic forms that the Indo-Persian-Arabic civilization has offered to the world. At the outset, we need to look at the essential structure of the ghazal that consists of rhyming couplets and a refrain. The salient features of the ghazal can be best summarised as follows: ?A ghazal is composed of five or more couplets (referred to as a “sher”s) ?Both lines of the first couplet end with a repetitive refrain known as the “radeef” of the ghazal. The first couplet is referred to as the “matlaa” of the ghazal
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?The “radeef” in each line is preceded by a rhyme known as the “qaafiyaa”. ?The rhyming scheme of the ghazal is therefore of the type AA, BA, CA etc. ?Each couplet must depict a complete thought process within itself. ?All the couplets must share the same meter ?Sometimes, the poet's name or nom de plume is featured somewhere in the last couplet (the “maktaa”) of the ghazal