Ghazal

The Ghazal has its roots in 7th century Arabia, and gained much popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was developed in Persia in the tenth century, and was brought to India in the 12th. Currently, it is mostly practiced in Iran, Pakistan, and India. 

The following are traditional terms for the Ghazal: 

• Sher: A poem of two lines, not necessarily rhyming. Not to be confused with a couplet, which rhymes AA. Each segment of a Ghazal is a sher. 
• Beher: The meter of the sher. Both the length and the rhythm. All lines in a Ghazal must be the same beher. 
• Radif: The repeated refrain that ends the first two lines of the first sher and the last line of each other sher. 
• Kaafiyaa: The rhyming pattern of the words that precede each radif. They need not be the same word, but they should rhyme. 
• Matla: The first sher is a Ghazal. The one where each line ends with the radif.

Reservoir by David Welch
The apple was not an apple when the rains came
The grave spurned the groundskeeper's shovel when the rains came

No sacrament no scripture There were no reservoirs
save an ark beneath the steeple when the rains came

First the firver wouldn't fill Then the valley's hills
rose like the back of a camel when the rains came

The piano pursed its mouth of strings The tenor kissed
his wearthered hymnal when the rains came

There was no weathered landscape There were neither
the hanging bardens nor Babel when the rains came

Lying on his back The shepherd fanned his arms and legs
No one told him he wouldn't impress an angel when the rains came

our glosses/wanting in this world  Can you remember?
My name is Hebrew means Beloved or blissful when the rains came

IN YOUR EYES by Emporia State student, Taryn Lee (2019)
Looking in your eyes, 
What do I see in your eyes?

In times of laughter, 
It's glee in your eyes.

Under the night sky,
Stars, three, in your eyes.

In a windy field,
Fly free in your eyes.

Looking lovingly, 
It's me in your eyes.

(Image by Jess Bailey from Pixabay)

A Ghazal typically consists of 5-15 couplets, written with lots of emotion. The first stanza establishes a theme, with both lines rhyming and the end of the second line establishing a refrain. Couplets are two consecutive lines that are linked in some way, typically with rhyme. However, traditional Ghazal does not write couplets in this sense. Instead, they will take the last word from the first line, and repeat it at the end of every couplet, using that word as a refrain. The refrain is repeated in the second line of each subsequent stanza. 

The last couplet usually includes the poet's signature, either referring to themselves in the third or first person. The meaning behind their name can be included instead for the same purpose.

Additionally, each line must be the same length, though it does not force the same meter (only encourages it). WHile the style is traditionally rigid, there are many who have taken liberty with the style and done wonderfully. If the poem has no refrain, then it is truly a "free verse" Ghazal. Spencer Reece has a sequence in senve parts called "Florida Ghazals"

• Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-1984) - Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a renowned Pakistani poet, writer, and intellectual, celebrated for his contributions to Urdu literature. Faiz's poetry often explored themes of love, beauty, social justice, and political activism.
• Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001) - Agha Shahid Ali was a highly acclaimed Kashmiri-American poet known for his mastery of the ghazal form in English poetry. Born in India, Ali migrated to the United States to pursue his education, earning a Ph.D. in English from Pennsylvania State University and went on to have a distinguished career as a poet, scholar, and educator. 
• Mimi Khalvati (1944- ) Born in Tehran, Iran, Mimi Khalvati is a contemporary British poet who explores a wide range of themes, including identity, love, exile, and memory. 
• Jaun Elia (1931-2002) - Jaun Elia was a Pakistani Urdu poet, philosopher, biographer, and scholar known for his mastery of the ghazal form. He belonged to a distinguished literary family; his father, Allama Shafiq Hasan Elia, was a noted scholar and poet. He delved into themes such as love, loss, existentialism, and societal critique with a  unique blend of cynicism and romanticism.