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Ghazal for a Gazelle: How to Write a Ghazal [Infographic]

By Will Willingham 19 Comments

The ghazal has been on my mind for a while now. Since I learned it was Tweetspeak’s theme for October, I’ve been dreaming of its long horns, its powerful and graceful legs that propel it at highway speeds through the lush grasslands of their natural habitat. (If the photographs on the Internet are any indication, though, the cheetah runs much faster. If I have any advice for you when being chased by a cheetah, it’s this: don’t turn. The cheetah will always take you down when you turn.)

So the joke’s on me. The ghazal is not a graceful beast from the savannah grasslands. The ghazal is a poem. No, that’s not even right. The ghazal, according to poet Agha Shahid Ali, is a series of stand-alone couplets which each represent “a stone from a necklace.” The ghazal, neither poem nor gazelle, is a string of poems, in effect, like a string of beads.

But then, the joke’s not on me. Turns out the joke I meant to tell, about the gazelle and the ghazal, is a workable joke after all, since word etymologists believe that gazelle is a derivative of ghazal, Arabic for love poem. Seems poets through the ages have compared their beautiful women to gazelles. (Clearly, they were not looking at National Geographic’s photographs of the cheetahs, because these were not the best days for the gazelle.)

Have you tried your hand at how to write a ghazal yet? We’re playing with the form all month long at Tweetspeak. If you’d like to write a ghazal, perhaps our new infographic can be of help.

And it’s no wonder all the ghazals sing of unrequited love. The gazelles keep falling prey to the cheetahs.

How to Write a Ghazal infographic
[click the image to view the infographic larger]

Want to share the infographic? Grab the code and paste it into your blog. It would make us happy if you link back to this page.

Photo by gaftels, Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post and infographic by L.W. Lindquist.

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Will Willingham
Will Willingham
Director of Many Things; Senior Editor, Designer and Illustrator at Tweetspeak Poetry
I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.
Will Willingham
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Filed Under: Blog, Funny Poems, Ghazal Poems, Infographics, poetry, poetry teaching resources

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About Will Willingham

I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.

Comments

  1. Donna says

    October 16, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    I love how you lay out each rule!
    Queen of infographics you RULE!

    😉

    Reply
    • Will Willingham says

      October 16, 2013 at 8:27 pm

      Thanks, Donna.

      No royalty here. 🙂

      Reply
    • Monica Sharman says

      October 17, 2013 at 12:44 pm

      Donna, you say “Queen.” I tweeted “Guru.”

      Reply
      • Donna says

        October 17, 2013 at 3:02 pm

        🙂

        Reply
  2. Maureen Doallas says

    October 16, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    You are surpassing your selfie.

    I’ve seen kudu, cheetah, rhino, and more in the wilds of South Africa. An unforgettable experience. I’ve also been to a cheetah conservation farm, which is fascinating.

    I shared a Three Quarks Daily piece yesterday on ghazals:
    http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2013/10/saying-the-ghazal-duende-and-performing-the-courtly-art-of-the-ghazal.html

    Reply
    • http://www.willinghammedia.com/ says

      October 16, 2013 at 8:27 pm

      I just got to thinking when I was browsing gazelle images in preparation for this project how often they were being snagged by cheetahs. While they’re known for such speed, apparently they are not the fastest in the grasslands.

      I’ll check out the link. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Maureen Doallas says

    October 16, 2013 at 1:38 pm

    Here’s a challenge to break the rules and help create this in celebration of Halloween:

    Monstrous Ghazal

    Frankie’s got so tired of his nuts, he’s bolted.
    He’s bit Mummy’s finger, left it cut, not bolted.

    Weird spooky places fill with creepy creatures.
    Werewolf are you, in your hut? Have you molted?

    Vanquished Vampires make a mess of new blood.
    Witches stir up pots of guts. Aren’t you revolted?

    Ghosts lack bones, won’t appear to take a stand.
    Zombies lack a will or mind to shut, go unconsulted.

    Headless Horseman toward me rides by light of moon.
    Grim Reaper makes no time for buts. He’s so devoted.

    Reply
    • Donna says

      October 16, 2013 at 9:17 pm

      Lol!!! Love it…. Even the revolting parts!!!

      Reply
    • Will Willingham says

      October 16, 2013 at 8:47 pm

      I love this. 🙂

      Werewolf are you — perfect. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Megan Willome says

    October 16, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    Went to the zoo this past Saturday. No gazelles, but there were kudus. I really want to try this poem when I finish my zoo article.

    Reply
  5. Nancy Franson says

    October 23, 2013 at 11:46 am

    This amuses me.

    And, it brings back fond memories of munching popcorn while watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with my cousins at my grandmother’s house.

    How on earth we were able to eat anything with all that gazelle slaughter going on, is beyond me.

    Love Maureen’s Monster Ghazal.

    Reply
  6. Rehan says

    March 31, 2014 at 7:18 am

    Dear sir,
    For the firts time i would like to thanks to you
    With whom i got this chance
    I am very thanksfully in my heart and soal

    “Seyasat ki zor se kamzor karti rahi rozgar har insaan ki
    Guzar raha hai guzarta rahega zindagi har insaan ki”

    Thanks

    Reply
  7. A.H says

    May 16, 2014 at 2:32 am

    O beautiful wine-bearer, bring forth the cup and put it to my lips
    Path of love seemed easy at first, what came was many hardships.
    With its perfume, the morning breeze unlocks those beautiful locks
    The curl of those dark ringlets, many hearts to shreds strips.
    In the house of my Beloved, how can I enjoy the feast
    Since the church bells call the call that for pilgrimage equips.
    With wine color your robe, one of the old Magi’s best tips
    Trust in this traveler’s tips, who knows of many paths and trips.
    The dark midnight, fearful waves, and the tempestuous whirlpool
    How can he know of our state, while ports house his unladen ships.
    I followed my own path of love, and now I am in bad repute
    How can a secret remain veiled, if from every tongue it drips?
    If His presence you seek, Hafiz, then why yourself eclipse?
    Stick to the One you know, let go of imaginary trips.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweetspeak Poetry's Top Ten Posts from the Last Month (or so) | says:
    October 31, 2013 at 11:10 am

    […] 6. Ghazal for a Gazelle: How to Write a Ghazal Infographic – It’s not like Tweetspeak to feature a poetic form and not give you a new infographic to go along with it. Our infographic shows you how to write a ghazal, complete with a smiling gazelle. […]

    Reply
  2. Tweetspeak Party? You Could Be Invited | says:
    November 1, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    […] for fun, succinct ways to introduce sonnets, haiku, pantoums (and we are waiting for the first ghazal story to […]

    Reply
  3. What You Do for Poetry - says:
    October 29, 2014 at 11:04 am

    […] else does your partnership result in gazelles writing ghazals? Or phantoms writing pantoums? What other website gives you the simpleton’s guide to Pride and […]

    Reply
  4. Top Ten Reasons to be a Tweetspeak Tugboat - says:
    May 16, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    […] else will you find gazelles writing ghazals? Who else has phantoms writing pantoums? What other website gives you the simpleton’s guide to […]

    Reply
  5. Rescuing a Story through Poetry—How a Ghazal Saved a Dog! - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    April 20, 2022 at 9:30 am

    […] tricks, thus granting the chickens long, happy lives. In this poem, the chickens range free — like awkward gazelles — while Rascal waits and plots, sure that this time he is smarter any old […]

    Reply
  6. Good News for the Writer—It's Okay to Write a Plot Without Conflict - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    December 8, 2022 at 1:49 pm

    […] I’m sure that I did a first attempt at this form in as basic a way as someone trying their hand at a ghazal for the first time, but I felt all of a sudden that I could at least figure out where to start in exploring the form. […]

    Reply

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