My reading of the Ghazals has given me an emotional connection with writers who have lived hundreds of years before me. For this to occur shows the timeless nature of the Ghazals and explains why it has gained such fame around the world today. What most interested me about the Ghazals was that while they all explored themes of love, the Ghazals of each writer still tended to differ in their themes. As a result, the theme of love which I once thought of as simple is shown to be surprisingly complex and far-reaching. Love appears in the Ghazals as sexual desire, loneliness, religious devotion, God, and even slight nationalism. In each poem, love is furthermore described not as solely a feeling, but also as a need to continue living, like food or water. This nature of love is seen far less in Western poetry. In my opinion, most of Western poetry portrays love as either simply a strong feeling that, while exciting for the poet, is allowed to leave unfulfilled without ruining the narrator's life, or as a power that can be used to unite many people under a certain cause. The literal translation of one of Ghalib's Ghazals portrays the view of love as a necessity which all Ghazal writers possessed. After leaving someone he loves, the narrator of this Ghazal states, "I am (like) an extinguished candle, no more becoming/befitting in an/ assembly of friends." (Ghazals of Ghalib, pg. 16, 1970).
I also liked how the central theme of Ghazels were to do with love, but also that they touch on different aspects of love. You also make a good point that I had not put to light that the need for love is potrayed as a necessity such as food and water. I always got that feeling that there was such passion and desperation for love, but I never was able to put it into words that love is a necessity. And you are also right that this strong feeling of love is not seen is western poetry, that is another reason why I am so drawn to the Ghazels. That passion really draws me in to liking the Ghazels.
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