How to Write a Ghazal

Last Updated: December 2, 2021

The ghazal (pronounced roughly like English guzzle) is a centuries-old, popular form of poem and song in Persia (Iran), Pakistan and India.^{[1]
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Research source} With its single rhyme and its refrain, it can be a fun and interesting challenge.

A ghazal consists of a series of couplets (two-line verses), with each line containing the same number of syllables. A ghazal has at least five couplets, but not more than fifteen. (At that length it would be closer to a qasida.) Most ghazals are about 7–12 couplets long. Every verse ends with the same word or group of words (radif), preceded by a rhyme (qaafiya). Additionally, both lines of the first verse end with the qaafiya and radif. This is because the ghazal was originally meant to be sung, thus the repetition of the qaafiya and radif let the listener know what they were.

Would you like to learn to write a ghazal? We will teach you!
Though at first the rules may seem a puzzle, we will teach you!

Glossary

(These terms are from Arabic unless otherwise noted.)

Bahr (بحر "sea") — Refers to the meter of the poem. In Arabic, the meter is often quite strict. In English, for our purposes, it refers to the number of syllables in a line.
Ghazal (غَزَل‎) — An ancient form of Arabic poetry, now diffused to many languages and cultures, and still actively written in our time. Read on to find out how to do this!
Maqta (مقطع "division, part, section") — The last sher (couplet) of a ghazal. Typically it includes the poet's takhallus (pen name).
Matla (مطلع "beginning") — The first sher (couplet) of a ghazal. It tells the reader the radif (refrain) and qaafiya (rhyme).
Qaafiya (قافیہ "rhyme") — The rhyme, discussed in Step 2.
Radif (ردیف "row, order") — The refrain, discussed in Step 1.
Sher (شعر "poem") — Any couplet of a ghazal. (As noted below, each couplet constitutes a mini-poem.) This is the Persian term, and the one used in this article. The Arabic term is bayt (بیت "house").
Takhallus (تخلص "liberated", hence "ending") — The poet's pen name or nom de plume, typically included in the maqta as a sort of sign-off.

Steps

1
Decide what your radif is going to be. Every verse ends with the same word or group of words (radif). It makes sense to choose one that can be flexible in use and meaning, so you can use it in different ways in each sher, or couplet.^{[2]
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- You're bound to make a few false starts, and you'll soon realise that your choice of radif is the single most important factor in determining how successful your ghazal is likely to be.
2
Consider what your qaafiya is going to be. The qaafiya is a rhyme that precedes the radif. Again, pick something with lots of possibilities.^{[3]
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3
Choose your topic. Traditional topics include wine and drunkenness. When taken literally, this is quite something when you consider the time and place of origin of this poetic form! When taken metaphorically, wine represents the divine, or a connection or conduit to the divine. Drunkenness represents a meal of this food for the spirit.
- Another traditional topic is love (where it's often deliberately ambiguous whether the poet is referring to divine love or love between two people).
- At the same time, however, the key word is "traditional". As with any poetic form, you can write about any topic that works. See also for example Patricia Smith's "Hip-Hop Ghazal".
4
Get writing! A ghazal consists of a series of couplets (two-line verses), with each line containing the same number of syllables. Each couplet is a separate, complete mini-poem, so there's no need for any narrative progression, or any real connection between the couplets. Both lines of the first verse end with the qaafiya and radif. See down the page for an example ghazal.^{[4]
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- Remember, each couplet constitutes a separate little poem, so don't have one verse rely on a previous one to make sense.
5
Finish with a flourish. As with any poem or piece of writing, ideally you should end with something subtle yet unexpected. This will cause the reader to ponder your words, and hence will add more depth to your ghazal.
- Traditionally, the poet's pen-name was included in the last verse; this final couplet usually contains a 'turn', or change of tone, to something more personal or quirky.

Example Ghazal

In this example, the radif is "I do not know", while the qaafiya (the rhyme preceding it) is -ate, as in slate, fate, depreciate, etc. In the example, each line contains 14 syllables, but any length is fine - it's up to you.