champagne1982
Dangerous Liaison
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2002
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The Ghazal (pronounced guh-zzle) is an eastern form of poetry consisting of five to fifteen couplets, each of which should stand as a small poem on its own. This could lead you to wonder why you should bother with a ghazal instead of a tanka but don't desert me yet.
Each couplet is tied to the other through rhythm or count in that all of the lines are the same length, a rhyme that (usually) immediately precedes a refrain. The design is elegant and so distinctly Persian in flavour that soon enough you won't bother stepping into wasabi when you can dance with curry.
The first stanza shows the reader the rhyme and refrain since it is used in both lines of the couplet. This establishes the scheme that is to be echoed in the second line of each subsequent strophe. The poet can chose to make the last stanza a signature through invoking their name in either first, second or third person.
Agha Shahid Ali explains the intricacies of the formula in an article on his page PoetryNet: The Ghazal far more elegantly than I.
This is one of my favourite examples of the poem formula. This doesn't fit the formula perfectly since it's a translation from the original Farsi but many of the elements are here. It's by the famous Sufi poet, Jalaluddin Rumi:
Rumi, Fountain of Fire
Cal-Earth, September 1994
This is my attempt from a few years ago:
Love's Stain Upon Me (a ghazal).
I hope you all try it and enjoy.
Each couplet is tied to the other through rhythm or count in that all of the lines are the same length, a rhyme that (usually) immediately precedes a refrain. The design is elegant and so distinctly Persian in flavour that soon enough you won't bother stepping into wasabi when you can dance with curry.
The first stanza shows the reader the rhyme and refrain since it is used in both lines of the couplet. This establishes the scheme that is to be echoed in the second line of each subsequent strophe. The poet can chose to make the last stanza a signature through invoking their name in either first, second or third person.
Agha Shahid Ali explains the intricacies of the formula in an article on his page PoetryNet: The Ghazal far more elegantly than I.
This is one of my favourite examples of the poem formula. This doesn't fit the formula perfectly since it's a translation from the original Farsi but many of the elements are here. It's by the famous Sufi poet, Jalaluddin Rumi:
Ghazal 838
if you pass your night
and merge it with dawn
for the sake of heart
what do you think will happen
if the entire world
is covered with the blossoms
you have labored to plant
what do you think will happen
if the elixir of life
that has been hidden in the dark
fills the desert and towns
what do you think will happen
if because of
your generosity and love
a few humans find their lives
what do you think will happen
if you pour an entire jar
filled with joyous wine
on the head of those already drunk
what do you think will happen
go my friend
bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen
Translated by Nader Khaliliif you pass your night
and merge it with dawn
for the sake of heart
what do you think will happen
if the entire world
is covered with the blossoms
you have labored to plant
what do you think will happen
if the elixir of life
that has been hidden in the dark
fills the desert and towns
what do you think will happen
if because of
your generosity and love
a few humans find their lives
what do you think will happen
if you pour an entire jar
filled with joyous wine
on the head of those already drunk
what do you think will happen
go my friend
bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen
Rumi, Fountain of Fire
Cal-Earth, September 1994
This is my attempt from a few years ago:
Love's Stain Upon Me (a ghazal).
I hope you all try it and enjoy.