Poetry (Nazm): Single-subject poems, forms and figures of speech
Nazm versus ghazal in one line
A nazm carries one subject and one argument from aghaz to ikhtitam; a ghazal carries as many subjects as it has shers. Marks in this section go to markazi khayal, tashreeh of a band, san'at-e-bayani, and the poet's ahad and maqsad.
Forms you must be able to name
Hamd, naat, manqabat, qasida, masnavi, musaddas, mukhammaas, qat'a, tarkib-band, azad nazm, nasri nazm. Each has a fixed shape: qasida is a single-rhyme panegyric; masnavi runs on couplets, each with a fresh rhyme; musaddas is built in six-line stanzas; azad nazm loosens beher but keeps an inner rhythm.
Reading a band
- Identify the grammatical address first: is the poet speaking to God, to the Prophet, to a nation, to a city, or to himself? The address fixes the tone.
- Locate the talmeeh (allusion) if there is one, and say what it imports into the poem.
- Name the device and its effect, never the device alone.
Worked example
Compare (a) 'Zindagi ek safar hai' with (b) 'Zindagi ka safar'.
Reasoning: (a) states the comparison openly, giving mushabbih (zindagi), mushabbih-bihi (safar) and the tool of comparison (ek) - this is tashbeeh. (b) removes the tool and treats the vehicle as a possession of the subject - this is isti'ara. Same image, two different names. The mark comes only with the label plus the reason: 'tashbeeh hai kyunke ek ke zariye moazna kiya gaya hai.'
Traps
Naming a device with no justification; summarising the subject but missing the argument; omitting the poet's name and ahad; confusing talmeeh (allusion) with tashbeeh (simile); paraphrasing every line when one band was asked; ignoring beher in a musaddas or qasida question.