The Ghazal

A lyric form of five or more couplets, each independently complete and unified across the poem only by a shared refrain and rhyme established in the opening couplet and repeated at the end of every couplet thereafter, traditionally closed by a signature couplet in which the poet names their own pen name. Originating in Arabic court poetry and developed into its major literary form in Persian by poets including Rumi and Hafez, the ghazal spread into Urdu, Turkish and other languages, where poets such as Mirza Ghalib made it a dominant lyric form. Classical Persian and Urdu ghazals share the couplet and refrain structure but differ in emphasis: the Persian tradition leans toward mystical and philosophical address, often blurring earthly and divine love, while the Urdu tradition, developing later, gave particular weight to the wit and epigrammatic turn of the individual couplet. The word is pronounced roughly GUZ-ul, with a hard g as in garden.