3. WHAT’S A GHAZAL?
a Persian poetry
form
takes its name from
the Arabic word
meaning “the talk of
boys and girls”
in other
words, flirting or
sweet talk
http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/9f/Sweet-Talk-a-Girl-Step-2.jpg/670px-Sweet-Talk-a-Girl-Step-2.jpg
4. WHY WERE THEY POPULAR?
Easy to sing
Relatively short
Themes
Love
Drinking wine
5. WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO THE FORM?
Written in pairs of 5- 15 long-lined
couplets
Repetition exists through refrain called radif
A refrain (a repeated word or phrase) appears
at the end of both lines of the first couplet and
at the end of the second line in each
succeeding couplet.
Rhyme called a qafia is often, not always, used
is preceded by the couplet’s rhyming word
appears twice in the first couplet
6. WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO THE FORM?
Each couplet/line is able to stand on its
own, like a proverb can.
Ralph Waldo Emerson criticized the ghazal
because this aspect made them feel
disjointed
Look at a ghazal like a piece of music
Each line adds something to a whole thought
Does not need to be a story that makes sense
7. WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO THE FORM?
The subject is mystical
That just means it inspires fascination, awe, or
mystery
Loss and love are still popular topics
In the old Persian form, poets included
their last names in the last couplet. You
can do this, too.
Called a “signature stanza”
9. WHAT TO LOOK FOR…
Highlight the radif in each example.
Does the poet use a qafia?
Examine topic… what does it make you
think?
Can each line/couplet stand on its own?
11. THE GHAZAL RULES
Write 5-15 couplets.
Use a radif
Challenge yourself to try using a qafia
No enjambment. Each couplet stands on
it’s own.
Keep you lines long like in the examples.
