The Ghazal’s Longing Repetition
The poetic form of the Ghazal can be traced back to its seventh-century Arabic roots, as well as its prominence in multiple languages. The Ghazal’s form entails an opening couplet, or matla, that begins the general rhyme scheme and refrain (quafia and radif), which is repeated within the second line of each couplet afterwords (Ali 211). The Ghazal is often defined as a form of “disunity,” with segmented ideas intersecting in order to portray the poet’s intended story and meaning. In its meaning, the Ghazal often takes a longing route, whether it be a longing for love and passion, or a longing for freedom (Ali 212). The role of repetition in the Ghazal is inherently prominent, as it unifies the general form and longing nature of the poem by providing consistency and an exciting sense of anticipation.
For instance, in Jonathon Musgrove’s, “Sara’s Ghazal,” the repetition of “this body” at the end of the second line of each couplet emphasizes the speaker’s longing for love and passion from their inferred romantic partner, Sara. The first couplet of Musgrove’s Ghazal begins with the statement that “Your holy arms open, bid me, Take this body. / To taste your sweet blood must I forsake this body?” (215). The repetition of the refrain, which in this case is the words “this body,” ultimately shows the conflicting feelings that the narrator has towards their connection with Sara. In the first line, the narrator seems to be presenting Sara with a passionate plea to “take this body,” yet in the second line, it seems as though the narrator has to sacrifice themselves and their body in order to feel Sara’s passion towards them, due to the refrain’s emphasis on “forsake this body.” This repetition allows the conflict of love and longing to become apparent for the reader, creating an exciting sense of tension for the next set of couplets.
The sense of tension and conflict throughout “Sara’s Ghazal” remains immersed in the narrator’s experiences, thanks to the structured poetic form that the Ghazal follows: the first line of the couplet presents a new sense of emotion or experience, only to return to the phrase “this body.” The last couplet of the Ghazal is presented as the notion that “My soft prayer is a swirling-tongue invitation. / Feel passion, Sara, fucking can’t break this body” (Musgrove 215). This last couplet provides the reader with a sense of unsettlement, as the tension fails to break in the resolution of the piece. The narrator is seemingly longing for Sara to feel as passionate and in love as they are, yet is not satisfied by Sara’s actions. Again, the repetition of the radif further creates this exciting and passionate tension, as it provides the sense of the narrator’s never-ending plea for a reciprocation of love and passion. Without the radif of “this body,” “Sara’s Ghazal” would fail to be a passionate commentary on one’s ability to long for further love and passion from their partner.
Ali, Agha Shahid. “Ghazal: To Be Teased Into Disunity.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art, Edited by Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U. of Michigan Press, 2002, pp. 210–216.
Musgrove, Johnathan. “Sara’s Ghazal.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art, Edited by Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U. of Michigan Press, 2002, p. 215.
