The ghazal is not native to English or western cultures. It was originally a Persian form of panegyric poetry called qasida. These poems were written in praise of Persian emperors or their noblemen. It was a portion of this qasida called tashbib that was separated and eventually evolved into the ghazal by the end of the first millennium AD. Over the course of centuries, the ghazal was accepted into several Eastern cultures to be written, read and sung prodigiously in languages such as Arabic, Hindi and Urdu.
Ghazals were most likely introduced to English readers through translations from classical Persian poets such as Rumi and Hafiz. It is only relatively recently that English poets have taken on writing original English ghazals. Unfortunately, English scholars generally seem to have little real respect for the history and tradition of poetic forms from other cultures and will “interpret” such forms into an English something that lacks even a slight resemblance to the original form. The ghazal has not been immune to such loose interpretations into English. One book that comes to mind is The Night Abraham Called to the Stars by Robert Bly. Though Bly calls the works in this book ghazals, they are nothing of the sort.
It was only after consulting a number of sources that I began to see the English ghazal. Very few have actually been written. This is understandable given the incredibly restrictive nature of the form. There seem to be ten solid points that can be used to define the English language ghazal:
1) The ghazal is comprised of couplets. Each couplet stands alone as a complete poem. The idea is to make the ghazal like a pearl necklace. The necklace (ghazal) as a whole is striking, but each pearl (couplet) may stand alone in its own beauty and completion of expression. So, the ghazal is not a poem in itself, but a collection of poems in the form of couplets.
English writers tend to interpret this idea in very personal ways. However, to provide a measurable context, it is safe to say that however a couplet reads, it must end in a definitive fashion as if a concluding period could occur at the close of the second line.
2) While the first and second lines of each couplet together often complete a thought, they are themselves each thoughts with some degree of independence. Hence a natural, brief pause ought to occur at the end of the first line in completion of the first half of the thought.
3) There are between 5 and 15 couplets.
4) The second line of every couplet closes with a refrain.
5) In the opening couplet, both the first and second lines close with the refrain.
6) The refrain is a word or brief phrase. When a phrase is used, it contains no more than three words.
7) A mono-rhyme is used throughout the couplets. The rhyme terminates at the syllable before each refrain. So, the rhyme is used twice in the first couplet and once on the second line of every couplet ensuing. If there are 15 couplets, the mono-rhyme is used 16 times. This can get interesting.
8) Except for the fact that each couplet uses a refrain, there is no end rhyme. However, end rhyme may be introduced as a compliment to the form. If end rhyme is used in any manner, it is used in conjunction with the mono-rhyme, not in place of it.
9) Each line throughout the poem uses the same meter.
Here it is worth noting that traditional ghazals use one of 19 specific meters. But, so far, I have not figured out a way to make an English ghazal adhere to any of these meters. I believe the variation of English accents makes this pretty much impossible to accomplish, so it seems my only choice for now are the metric structures found in English prosody.
10) The poet uses his or her penname in the final couplet. This reference can be made on the first or second line of the final couplet. This is sometimes called the “signature couplet”. Traditional poets writing ghazals have often used this as a means of opening a sort of dialogue with themselves.
In my ghazals, the penname used is Zahhar.
In reading many loose adaptations of the ghazal, I have found that the only points above used with some consistency are 1, 3 and 8.
Ghazals translated into English seem to also use points 2 and 10. Where translations are concerned, this makes perfect sense because words that rhyme in Eastern languages will not rhyme in English and rarely will Eastern phraseologies used with a refrain translate directly into English phraseologies. The translations themselves are not “ghazals”, but they certainly are “ghazal translations”.
This is a pretty complete explanation of what an English written ghazal is.
Included in the list
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Very informative.
Hello Zahhar....Thank you...for posting this peice..great help.
Rahbar. -
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Ah yes, I posted this some years ago. Much research went into it.
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Wow this is wonderful explanation of the English Ghazal..I will bookmark it
Ruby -
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Ah great! Yes I put a lot of time into this explanation. Eventually I'll update this article to discuss variants on the rhyme scheme. You might find my article "Some Alternatives to Rhyme" (or similar) of interest.
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:)
well erin i am persian and i can tell you that you did your homework !!
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You might find some of my posted ghazals interesting, too. Thanks for your supportive words ajocean.
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wow this was clarifying so I guess from your nick and usage,talking about arabic poetry along with yr looks i'D SAY U LOOK LEBANESE,RIGHT?am Egyptian,well done
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I write Ghazals in Urdu.....but this was a good explanation of English Ghazals. I would love to translate your ghazals if you'd like me to.
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I think maybe I should get sonnets down-pat before I try ghazals, what do you think? I found this to be informative, so of course I will soon be using this information. Thanks, Erin.
Lots of love,
Nicole -
Well Written
The first time I heard of ghazals was when I read your poem "Dancelight". Now, after reading this column, I can understand this form of poetry much better. Thank-you for your informative and well researched article! -
good
I will have to read some ghazels to completely understand that kind of poetry to even to write it for me. I rank this good and very much full of information to me. -
A wonderful piece explaining all the confusion and complications around the form...I intend to study some of yours before I attempt the form myself...thank you for the obvious time you took to research this...leanne xxx
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Lovely explanation of the ghazal...clears up a lot of fuzzy aspects ^_^ Much love
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CT: good luck. they are tricky and difficult. i doubt i'll ever return to the form myself, even after dedicating two years of my life to it. however, a prolonged effort with the ghazal will force you to learn incredible amounts about the nature and potential of poetry and prosody.
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Thank you for the explantion to what a ghazal was. I think I will check out some of yours and then attempt to write some of my own. This is a huge help.
~CT -
God, you are brilliant! When I suffer confusion these days I come to your work and find the info I need almost certainly. Thank you so much for this accumulation of references. From meter to form. A huge help.
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Ah, okay, I think I get it *goes crosseyed* then again, maybe not. I don't think I'm officially a poet. Thank you for writing this though. I shall have to go read some of your ghazals now.
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i shall read some of your Ghazals.
the only Persian poet I've read so far has been Omar Kayyam (the Rubaiyat) -
MOst interesting and informative! I may give this a try, but for now will read some of your gazal's.
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Hmmm, I suppose I should have read this before I attempted my first Ghazals...although, in retrospect, it might have given me some preconcieved notions about NOT using this form to relate my story in "trilogy" style. This is, indeed, a most enlightening thread and I applaud you for being kind enough to share it with us. Thank-you.
Cheers, my friend. -
you're quite welcome.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!.. You've clarified a lot for me in this most informative column. I very much appreciate it.
~Bezoar
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