Poetry (Nazm and Ghazal): prescribed verses, poets and appreciation
What the poetry section tests
This section tests prescribed nazm and ghazal verses: meaning, poet, form and appreciation (tashreeh). You must know how a nazm differs from a ghazal and use the correct terms when explaining a sher.
Core rules
- A nazm usually develops one theme continuously; a ghazal is a sequence of couplets (ashat), each often independent.
- In a ghazal, the first sher is the matla, where radif and qafiya both appear; the poet's pen name in the last sher is the takhallus, and that sher is the maqta.
- Radif is the repeated word or phrase after the qafiya; qafiya is the rhyming element before it.
- For tashreeh, follow three steps: paraphrase the sher in simple Urdu, identify one poetic device, then explain its effect.
- Common devices: tashbeeh (simile), istiara (metaphor), mubaligha (hyperbole), kinaya (indirect allusion).
- Name the poet accurately and connect the verse to the nazm's overall theme, not to a unrelated biography.
Worked example
Illustrative sher: 'Hazaron khwahishein aisi ke har khwahish pe dam nikle, bahut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle.' Reasoning: first paraphrase: desires are so many that each one costs a life; many were fulfilled yet still seemed few. Then identify mubaligha in hazaron and dam nikle, and note the radif nikle with qafiya dam/kam. Finally state the effect: restlessness and insatiability. If the question asks about a nazm, do not use this ghazal sher as your example.
Traps
- Writing a paragraph on the poet instead of explaining the verse.
- Mixing nazm and ghazal conventions, such as looking for matla in every nazm.
- Giving word-by-word translation without a device or effect.
- Missing the takhallus when asked to identify the poet from the last sher.
- Confusing tashbeeh with istiara.