The Ghazals

I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing poetry, but, prior to reading and learning about the ghazal, I had essentially no experience with foreign forms or poetic customs. I expected to be completely confused by the ghazals and assumed that I'd have difficulty connecting to or appreciating them. While it's absolutely true that they don't have the same immediacy as more modern, english poetry, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading the ghazals. There were references and images I didn't grasp, but I quickly noticed that the careful diction and concisely beautiful imagery seemed to have drawn me in.

At first, I found myself underlining favorite couplets, not yet able to see how the couplets related to each other for many of the poems. Eventually, though, I picked up on what seems to be a sort of spiritual unification. Couplets might not seem to relate to each other at all in some poems, but the ghazal writers seem to have a humble dedication to expressing aspects of their human experiences. Though many of them are intensely emotional, often recounting painful stories of unrequited love, and others are peaceful observations of natural beauty, the religious presence in the ghazals seems to communicate that all of these experiences are sort of spiritually unified. It may be a stretch, but this was the impression that really struck me. Even at times in which the ghazal writers express profound uncertainty, even in direct regard to God and religion itself, there seems to be in conjunction with that a kind of humble acceptance of all the experiences and emotions life offers. The mushairas in which the ghazals are read and collectively experienced reinforces this impression for me. The public nature of the ghazal and the way the audience in the mushaira responds to the poet reflects a sort of communal sharing and acceptance of aspects of the human condition we all understand. One might even call it a celebration.