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Ghāzal

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An ancient form of lyric poetry consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with all couplets having the same meter

Detailed Definition
Ghāzal is a classical Arabic and Persian poetic form consisting of autonomous couplets (called sher) that share a refrain (radif) and rhyme (qafia) at the end of the second line, traditionally exploring themes of love, loss, and spiritual yearning; each couplet stands alone yet contributes to an overarching mood, and the poet often inserts their name in the final sher, a structure adapted into English by poets like Agha Shahid Ali to bridge cultural and lyrical traditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ghāzal: "In the garden of longing, every rose is your face— / Even thorns whisper your name in the night, my love."; "They say don’t drink wine, but your eyes are my cup— / I drown gladly in their dark, intoxicating gaze."; "My pen weeps ink for you, beloved— / Each letter a tear, each verse a sigh."
Additional Notes
Persian/Urdu form: couplets with monorhyme (AA BA CA DA). Signature last couplet includes poet's name. Mystical/romantic tradition. Related: Persian poetry, couplet forms. Study: unity through recurring rhyme.
Other Meanings of “Ghāzal”
Also Known As
Persian lyric Arabic love poem Radif verse Couplet meditation
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