1. THE GHAZAL

2. THE WHAT?

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”

8. EXAMPLES

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?

10. TIME TO TRY IT!
WRITE YOUR 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.