Ghazal

WHAT IS A GHAZAL?

A ghazal is a lyric poem with a structure including a repeated rhyme and a fixed number of verses. First crafted by Abdullah Jafar Rudaki, ghazals have grown to be an extremely popular style of poetry among poets all over the world. They are generally written on the theme of love and set to music. They are known to be originated in seventh century Arabia. 

FORMAT OF A GHAZAL:

Consisting of five to fifteen couplets, a ghazal has a specific rhyme scheme with a refrain at the end of every line. All the lines should be of approximately same meter and length. One of the most famous ghazals ever composed is "With Prayer" by Zeina Hashem Beck

"The herons were no longer safe in the sky. They flew with prayer,

then fell to us. We hid them from the cats. What to do with prayer?

Decades after the civil war, we enter the sniper’s hole, sew

the sandbags, read words for his boyfriend on the wall, true with prayer.

Write my name & invite me to a wedding. I want a parade

of cars with flashers on, each blinking red, two times two with prayer.

Dear Eurydice, what good a heart that can’t resist looking back?

Foolish, music-laden Orpheus. Almost saved you with prayer.

In the museum of memory, the missing accumulate.

They shoot out of the tiles like grass blades, damp & new with prayer.

I found a photo in a library book: lovers holding hands.

I felt chosen, then lost it. & I didn’t pursue with prayer.

When I interviewed God, I said I moved the plants toward the light,

forgot the water. Is love a lack, always imbued with prayer?

Tarot cards, make me beautiful. Abundance me, O Three of Cups,

spin luck O Wheel of Fortune, I’m through, I’m through, I’m through with prayer."

(by Zeina Hashem Beck)

Note: None of poems we present belong to us. We present an organised record and analysis of them. All copyrights are reserved to the original author and we are not using plagiarized work. The originality of writes are verified to the fullest extent we can.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GHAZAL:

1. Choosing a specific topic to be maintained throughout the poem
2. Deciding the radif i.e. the scheme of words to be repeated at the end of each stanza
3. Maintaining the same radif throughout the poem
4. Deciding the qaafiya i.e. a rhyme that precedes the radif
5. Maintaining the same qaafiya and choosing one with more flexible choices in order to open more possibilities and make writing of the ghazal easier

This style of poetry has become extremely popular due to its connecting with the depths of a person's heart through the lyrics as well as the music played along with it.
So dear reader, without any further ado, start penning...
Cheers!
Japman Aneja (member of team PoeTree FoRest)