“Jewel House Ghazal” and Repetition

The Ghazal presents “a formal unity based on rhyme and refrain and prosody” (210), and is formed through independent couplets that are held together. The couplets are autonomous with the ability for each to be presented differently such as comically, tragically, romantically, and so on. Not only are the couplets written to relate to one another but are meant to contain qafia known as a scheme rhyme and repeating lines known as radif. It can be obtained how the use of repetition in ghazals works to tell the reader a story. In Rafique Kathwari’s piece, “Jewel House Ghazal”, the use of the repeated line (radif), “the rain” creates a sense of longing the author has for his mother through the memory of the rain.

Throughout many lines of the particular Ghazal, “Jewel House Ghazal” our attention is turned to how Kathwari uses repetition to help the reader understand the importance of the line, “the rain”. It is used in the context to show a longing feeling for a memory that is now distant or in the past. The first or opening couplet (matla), “In Kashmir, half asleep, Mother listens to the rain. In another country, I feel her presence in the rain” (Kathwari 214). Here the author is addressing to the audience how the rain can be felt by both him and his mother. Even though they are not together at the moment it can be made known that they are still connected. The independence of the couplets continues throughout the poem but still holds true to the main theme of longing. As the Ghazal continues the reader is able to uncover more details of the loss the author feels due to the separation from his mother. There is a sense of wonder that appears in a later couplet, “She must wonder who will put on the kettle, butter the crumpets, offer compliments to the rain” (Kathwari 214). The author feels a sense of sadness because of not being able to be there with his mother. A memory he shared with her of putting the kettle on and buttering the crumpets that now seems to sink into his memory. Yet again, “the rain” finishes the line to stand true to the longing feeling the author feels by being separated from his mother, and the memory of his past with her. The radif, “the rain” represents the memories the author shares with his mother throughout the poem. Through the use of repetition in Ghazal the author is able to convey a story to their reader despite the independence the couplets hold.

Kathwari, Rafique. “Jewel House Ghazal.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Eds. Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes. Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2002. 214.