The ghazal emerged in 6th century Arabia as a poetic form distinct from earlier panegyric styles. It spread throughout West and South Asia due to its universal themes. The most famous ghazal poets, such as Rumi and Hafiz, were Persian and helped popularize the form. The ghazal is structured in couplets that each carry individual meaning while connecting to the overall composition through a repeating rhyme word. Contemporary poet Agha Shahid Ali adapted the ghazal form to English, as seen in his poem "Tonight."
Ghansoli Escorts Services 09167354423 Ghansoli Call Girls,Call Girls In Ghan...
Â
Ghazals
1.
2.
3. The ghazal emerged
from a long tradition
of Arabic poetry treating
issues of love, loss, and
unattainability. It first
emerged as a distinct
form in the sixth century,
evolving out of an older
style of panegyric called
The qasida.
4. The ghazal's versatility and emphasis on
universal themes made it exceedingly
popular throughout West and South Asia.
In fact, its most famous practitioners were
not Arabs at all. The 13th-century Persian
poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, has been
described as âthe most popular Poet in
Americaâ.
nd this moon, there is another hidden Moon,
ealed like a Turk inside the tent of the Fast.
ne who takes the road to that Moon comes to
excellent moon at the threshing floor of the Fast.
makes his face as pale as satin, he will wear
ilded robe of honor of the Fast.
rs are answered in this month, (for) the skies
erced by the sighs of the Fast.â
-Rumi
From Ghazal 2344
5. The 14th-century poet Hafiz
of Shiraz has been a major
influence on Middle Eastern
poetry. His work can still be
found in the homes of many
educated Persians in Iran
and Afghanistan.
âIt is, by the way, rather pleasing
to read dissolute old Hafiz in the
original language...â
-Karl Marx
In a letter to F. Enge
6. One of the finest and most
influential contemporary
Ghazal writers was Agha
Shahid Ali (1949-2002), whose
original compositions in English
helped to popularize the form
to a Western audience.
In the next section of this
presentation, we will use his
work as a model to better
understand the form's
construction.
10. Writing a ghazal : Form
Ghazals are traditionally
ly r
composed in couplets.
bab ose
pro mp lish
e is t co Eng The first couplet rhymes, and
urn inen s in all subsequent couplets must
bo rom plet
y Os t p ou end with the same word that
zz mos ed c
O e m
th rhy .
ended the first.
of day
to
what is more, each couplet
must carry poetic meaning
when standing-alone, in
addition to its role in the
overall composition.
11. Tonight
by Agha Shahid Ali
Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?
Whom else from raptureâs road will you expel tonight?
Those âFabrics of Cashmere--â âto make Me beautiful--â
âTrinketâ-- to gemâ âMe to adornâ Howâ tellâ-- tonight?
I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gatesâ
A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.
Godâs vintage loneliness has turned to vinegarâ
All the archangelsâ their wings frozenâ fell tonight.
Lord, cried out the idols, Donât let us be broken
Only we can convert the infidel tonight.
Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities
multiply me at once under your spell tonight.
[cont'd.]
12. Heâs freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.
Heâs left openâ for Godâ the doors of Hell tonight.
In the heartâs veined temple, all statues have been
smashed
No priest in saffronâs left to toll its knell tonight
God, limit these punishments, thereâs still Judgment Dayâ
Iâm a mere sinner, Iâm no infidel tonight.
Executioners near the woman at the window.
Damn you, Elijah, Iâll bless Jezebel tonight.
The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer
fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.
My rivals for your loveâ youâve invited them all?
This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.
And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell theeâ
God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.
13. You may have noticed that Ali âsignsâ his name by including it in the
last verse. This is an optional, but traditional, device for which a poet
can use either his real name, as in this case, or a chosen poetic pen
name called a takhallus.
14.
15. Pitfalls of the English ghazal
Students of poetry are aware of how much easier good rhymes are to
achieve in Romance languages, and the adjustments that must be
made for English.
Likewise, many of the languages in which ghazals have been composed,
like Urdu, have postpositional pronouns and other grammatical devices
that make it easy to unobnoxiously repeat an end word.
Be sure to pick your repeating word carefully! Simple adverbs are often a
good choice, as in Ali's example. You will have to experiment.
16.
17.
18. Image sources (in order of appearance):
http://www.humanevents.com/images/islm_cartoon_8.jpg
http://www.al-funun.org/al-funun/images/abu_nuwas.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Andr04.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Hofizi_Sherozi.jpg
http://kafilabackup.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/shahid.jpg?w=600
http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rossetti/rossetti8.html
http://www.codart.nl/images/RubensSamsonAndDelilahCa1610LondonNG450.jpg
http://images3.mtv.com/uri/mgid:uma:artist:mtv.com:1004?width=281&height=211
http://bookillustration.org/images/gallery108/14Fig8_L.jpg