The Ghazal: Structure, Radif and Qafiya

The ghazal is one of the best-loved forms of Urdu and Hindi poetry. Its structure is distinctive.

The defining features

• A ghazal is made of couplets (sher), usually five or more.
• Each couplet is independent in meaning.
• All couplets follow the same metre (beher).
• Lines share a rhyme (qafiya) and a refrain (radif).

The first couplet

The matla sets the pattern: both of its lines end with the rhyme and the refrain. In later couplets, only the second line carries them.

The final couplet

The maqta often includes the poet's takhallus, a signature in verse.

Independence of couplets

Unlike a story or a nazm, the couplets of a ghazal need not follow one another logically. One may be about longing, the next about the pain of separation, the next about wine, or the divine. Readers enjoy the contrast.

A sense of unity

Even so, the common rhyme, refrain and mood create unity. The central theme of a classical ghazal is love, often unfulfilled.

Language

A ghazal can be written in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Persian and other languages. Many Hindi readers enjoy Urdu-origin ghazals written in Devanagari.

Shayari and ghazal

The word shayari covers poetry in general, and it includes ghazals, nazms and single couplets. A ghazal is a specific form of shayari.

Reading tips

• Read one couplet at a time and pause.
• Look for the repeated refrain at the end of lines.
• Do not expect a plot.

Tips

1. Notice the refrain.
2. Treat each couplet as a world of its own.
3. Look for single couplets to share when a full ghazal is too long.

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