Different forms of URDU Poetry

by: ”shamsa ali” shamsa_adil@yahoo.com

   The following forms of Urdu poetry are known, some more popular than others:fard
Gazal
hamd
hazal
hijv
madah
manqabat
marsiiya
masnavii
munaajaat
musaddas
naat
nazm
qasiidaa
qataa
qavaallii
rubaayii
salaam
sehraa
vaasoKht
fard
A composition consisting of only one sher.
Gazal (pronounced “guzzle”)
Ghazal is a collection of couplets (shers or ashaar) which follow the rules of
‘matla’, ‘maqta’, ‘bahar’, ‘qafiya’ and ‘radeef’. The couplets are complete in
themselves. All the couplets of a ghazal must be of the same bahar, end in the
same words (radeef) and have the same rhyming pattern (qaafiyaa). Every ghazal
MUST have a matla. A ghazal may or may not have a maqta but if it does, it has
to be the last sher of the ghazal.
Ghazals which do not have a radeef are called Gair-muraddaf ghazals. In such
cases, the rule of qafiya is strictly followed. These type of ghazals are very
rare. Ghazals with the same radeef are called ham-radeef ghazals.
hamd
Poem written in praise of God.
hazal
Humourous poetry, also known as ‘mazaahiyaa’ or ‘mazaakiyaa’ shaayari. Some
examples of humourous Urdu poetry can be viewed here.
hijv
A satirical poem written to condemn or abuse a person. This type of poetry is
considered inferior and generally avoided by reputed poets. The opposite of a
hijv is a madah which is written in praise of patrons.
madah
Poem written in praise of royalty, patrons, etc.
manqabat
A poem written in praise of members of the family of the holy Prophet.
marsiiyaa (muhr-see-yaa)
An elegy written to mourn the death of a great man or a dearly loved person. In
its stricter sense, traditionally accepted in Urdu, a marsiya is an elegy
written specifically in honour of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain and his
comrades at Karbala. It describes the battle fought on the plains of Karbala by
Hazrat Imam Husain against the army of Yazid. The most well known writers of
Marsiya in Urdu are Mir baber Ali Anees and Salamat Ali Dabir. Sub-parts of the
marsiya are called Nauha and Soz.
masnavii(pronounced “mus-na-vee”)
A long narrative poem – much longer than the ghazal – embodying religious,
romantic or didatic stories. It is written in rhyming couplets, with each
couplet having a different rhyme and radeef. The most famous masnavis are
Masnavi-e-Rumi in Persian, Shah Namah of Firdausi, and Zehar-e-Ishq in Urdu.
munaajaat
A lyrical poem written as a prayer to God.
musaddas
A poem in which each unit consists of 6 lines. The most well known poet of this
style of writing was Maulana Altaf Husain Hali.
naat
A poem written in praise of the holy Prophet.
nazm
In a broad sense, nazm is a term used to define all kinds of Urdu poetry which
do not fall into any other category. However, in a literary sense, a nazm is a
well organized, logically evolving poem where each individual verse serves the
need of the central concept or theme of the poem. Though a nazm is traditionally
written in rhymed verse, there are many examples of nazms written in unrhymed
verse, or even in free verse.
qasiidaa (pronounced “quh-see-daa”)
A panygeric, or poem written in praise of a king or a nobleman, or a benefactor.
As in a ghazal, the opening couplet of a qasida, is a rhyming couplet, and its
rhyme is repeated in the second line of each succeeding verse. The opening part
of the qasida, where the poet may talk in general about love and beauty, man or
nature, life or death, is called the ‘tashbib’ or ‘tamheed’.
Interestingly, the ghazal has evolved from the qasida. Over time, the tashbib
got detached and developed into what we today know as Gazal. A qasida is usually
quite long, sometimes running into mor than a 100 couplets. A Gazal is seldom
more than 12 couplets long, averaging about 7 couplets.
qataa
A poem consisting of four lines, in the form of two shers. However, unlike shers
in a ghazal, the subject of the two shers is the same. It is believed that the
qataa was invented for occasions when poets felt that they were unable to
express their thoughts completely and satisfactorily in a single sher.
qavaalii
Traditionally a devotional song expressing love and oneness with God sung by a
group of people to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Nowadays, qawaallis
cover popular topics like love and wine.
rubaayii(pronounced “ru-baa-ee”)
A self-sufficient quartrain, rhyming (a, a, b, a) and dealing generally with a
single idea, which is customarily introduced and developed with the aid of
similes in the first three lines, and concluded, with concentrated effort and
impact, in the fourth line.The most well known rubaayis in Persian were written
by Omar Khayyam. In Urdu, some of the most well known practitioners of this form
were Firaq, Josh and Yagna Yaas Changezi.
salaam
A salutory poem written in praise of the holy Prophet. It can also be a poem
describing the incidents of Karbala. It is recited standing up.
sehraa
A song sung at the time of tying the seharaa during the wedding ceremony. It is
usually in praise of the bride/groom and their relatives.
vaasoKht
A poem describing the displeasure and carelessness of a lover