Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Ghazal- Mimi Khalvati
- Ghazal Poems
- rhyming couplet which
also feature a refrain
- refrain is a repeated phrase word or
line. For this poem it is "me"
- all the same metre.
for this poem its 12
syllables p/line
- each couplet is a
singular thought or idea
and each couplet
doesn't have to link to
the previous ones or
the ones that follow
- 6th century
arabic verse
linked to Islamic
sect of Sufism
- should always aim to find
the divine way and perfect
way to reach God/allah
- poet should be writing to
both a mortal love that is
unattainable as well as
divine love for God which
brings completion to the
poet. So the poem should
be aimed at the
unrequited lover and divine
God
- If I am the grass
and you the breeze,
blow through me"
- grass is a fixed constant and noun, breeze is an
abstract noun that is free. Grass depends on other
things to live, whereas the breeze doesn't.
Breeze/unrequited lover is empowered
- "grass"= Earth "breeze"=
Heaven "blow through
me"= breathe of God
- If I am the rose and you
the bird, then woo me
- rose is an organic symbol which
needs the bird in pollination in
order to survive
- bird is a metaphor of God and
the woo me part is God calling
her to her faith and telling her
not to be distracted by the world.
- If you are the rhyme and i the refrain,
don't hang on my lips, come and i'll come
too, when you cue me.
- refrain is a constant repeat... all
that on her mind,
- hang on my lips- can't find the
words, doesn't know what to say
- ambiguity and overtly sexual
- when you cue me- power and direction
to the man, she moves and speaks only
when he tells her
- could be God- directing and
controlling her and putting the
words into her mouth
- If yours is the iron fist in
the velvet glove when the
arrow flies, the heart is
pierced, tattoo me.
- iron fist- defiance and velvet glove- femininity
almost oxymoronic- 2 sides to her the defiant
and soft side or male vs her
- arrow flies- suggest that he is the archer that will
pierce her heart- damage her and that he is
powerful and dangerous.
- the heart is pierced- metaphor, damaged and emotive. Tattoo me-
suggest physical/internal markings or scars that will/has happened
should this love continue or start
- If mine is the venomous tongue, the
serepents tail,charmer use the charm,
weave a spell and subdue me
- venomous tongue- suggests poisonous
words/ bitterness so the unrequited lover has
become embittered
- serpents tail- biblical reference hints at
possible betrayal/disloyal/garden of eden/satan
- charmer- empowering the man once again
- subdue me- suggests she's out of
control and needs guidance, that she's
not stable and that she's needs to be
calmed down
- venomous tongue- blasphamy words
against God and serpents tail- succumbing
to temptation
- weave a spell- is Gods
healing when she is
sinning to bring her back
and control her wrong
doing
- If I am the laurel leaf in your crown, you
are the arms around my bark, arms that
never knew me
- laurel leaf- singular suggest insignificance of her to the
crown as she's only one segment of his glory. also the
crown of many leaves may suggest he has many
admirers and that he's to going to pay attention to each
one individually
- laurel leaf- one piece of God glory
- a- alliteration with arms around arms
- arms that never knew me- no physical love, perhaps this is
all hypothetical and theres never a relationship or will be
- Oh would that I would bark! So old and still in leaf.
And you, dropping in my shade, dew to bedew me!
- Oh would that i would bark- she
wishes it would happen
- so old and still in leaf- metaphor for her
youth which suggests she is no longer
young
- dropping- brief
encounters and gives her
limited and little attention
- he is the rain that is
necessary for the
survival of the trees
- she is replenished and
renewed by God and her faith
- What shape should i take to marry your own,
have you- hawk to my shadow, moth to my
flame- pursue me?
- she thinks she has to change
so that he can see her
- trying to measure up to God by changing
- hawk- is free and a predator which empowers the man
again and suggests he is to be wary off whilst she is but a
shadow- a reflection thats stuck on the ground
- moth to my flame- first time we see
the man vulnerable and the unrequited
lover with power. Moths are attracted ti
flames but when they get too close they
are burnt. Suggests if he were to find
her attractive, finally, he would only get
hurt.
- she is the undoing and
damage to her own
faith
- pursue me?- use of the question mark hints at
the fact that she knows he will never pursue her
- If i rise int the East as you die in the West, die for
my sake, my love every night renew me.
- she was born in the East and lived in the
West- reference that she is the unrequited lover,
supported by the refrain and rhyming couplets
being "me"--> mimi
- she is day and he is night and they can never meet
- it would be easier if he were to die
- hints at a saviour or martyr
- If when it ends, we are just good friends,
be my Friend, muse, lover and guide,
Shamsuddin to my Rumi
- if- hypothetical, all her imagination, she
is imagining them breaking up even
though the relationship hasn't even
started.
- Friend- capitalisation suggests
significance or a personal diety e.g.
God
- Rumi is a persian love poet who came
up with the Ghazal form of poem and
Shamsuddin was his assistant.
- suggests partners and co-workers so she still wants to be close to
him
- Be heaven and earth to me, and I'll
be twice the me I am, if only half
the world you are to me.
- heaven and earth- too big and cliche
- twice the me I am- desperation for him to like her and
give her attention so she wants to change as she feels
that her normally is half as good as he would want or
deserve
- gives a sense she doesn't
care as much as she first
did
- if only half the world you are to me- gives a sense that God is not a
part of her life as much as he should be