A Look into the Ghazal

• Has stringently formal disunity — made up of thematically independent couplets
• Formal unity based on rhyme, refrain, and prosody
• The opening couplet (matla) sets up a scheme rhyme (qafia) and refrain (radif) by having it occur in both lines — this scheme occurs only in the second line of each succeeding couplet
• When a poet establishes a scheme, “s/he becomes its slave”
• Minimum of five couplets
• Matla — opening couplet
• Radif — refrain
• Qafia — rhyme
• Makhta — signature couplet at the end of the ghazal in which the poet can invoke his/her name pseudonymously
• Moving any of the couplets or deleting them would not change the meaning of a ghazal
• Often sung

The ghazal is a form of Arabic poetry dating back to the seventh century. Now popular around the world and in many different languages, the ghazal has a strict scheme each poet much abide by. Although the scheme is set throughout the poem, the couplets themselves are thematically independent, meaning they are completely different from one another. In a ghazal, you may move or delete any of the couplets and the work will still hold the same meaning.

Ali, Agha Shahid. “Ghazal: To Be Teased Into Disunity.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Eds. Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes. Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2002.