Poetry (Nazm and Ghazal): Form, Device and Tashreeh
Two forms, two reading habits
A nazm usually develops one continuous argument or mood; a ghazal is a sequence of shers (couplets) that can stand alone but are bound by radif (the repeated word or phrase) and qafiya (the rhyme before it). The first sher, the matla, establishes the radif; the last sher, the maqta, often carries the poet's takhallus (pen name). Behr is the metre. In the exam, tashreeh questions ask for meaning plus poetic effect, not a paraphrase.
Reading a sher
- Identify the literal situation first: who is speaking, to whom, and about what.
- Name the device only if you can explain its effect: tashbeeh (simile), istiara (metaphor), tajnis (wordplay), and so on.
- Link the sher to the ghazal's emotional key; do not force one narrative across all couplets.
Worked example
Take a sher built on shama (candle) and parwana (moth). Literally, the moth circles the flame. Poetically, the shama may stand for the beloved, a guide, or a cause; the parwana for the devoted lover or follower. The device is istiara, and its effect is to make self-sacrifice appear both dangerous and luminous. A strong tashreeh states this movement from image to idea. A weak one says only 'the moth loves the candle'.
Traps
Treating a ghazal as one story; ignoring radif and qafiya when they carry meaning; naming a device without its effect; attributing a sher to the wrong poet; writing a general essay on love instead of analysing the given lines.