How to Write Ghazals

A ghazal, pronounced "gu-ZULL," is a traditional form of poetry, Persian in origin. It is comprised of couplets ending in a refrain. Ghazals typically address any of the classic themes of poetry: love, loss, lust, beauty, pain, and metaphysical queries. This poetic form gained popularity in contemporary, mainstream American poetics in the late 1980s and early 1990s with use by popular poets like W.S. Merwin, Agha Shahid Ali, and John Hollander. Below are the steps you must follow to write a traditional English ghazal.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Decide on the piece's theme. All couplets should be free-standing, and not necessarily directly related to each other, yet still loosely grouped around the poem's theme.

2. Choose a meter. All lines of a ghazal are written in the same meter, though there is no one defined metrical rule. Iambic pentameter is a common choice.

3. Figure out how many couplets you intend to include in your ghazal. While there is no definitive rule, traditional ghazals have between five to 15 couplets (10 to 30 lines).

4. Introduce the poem's theme clearly in the first couplet.

5. Establish a refrain in the first couplet. The refrain is the last three or so words in the second line of the couplet. This refrain should be used to end every couplet in the ghazal.

6. Write individual lines in complete sentences, without enjambment from one line to the next. Each line should express a full thought, while both lines of the couplet should address the same thought(s).

Tips & Warnings

• Check out the links in the Resources section to find examples of ghazals in English.

Resources

• The Ghazal Page
• AHA Poetry
• About.com: Poetry

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.