Ghazal Full Analysis

Ghazal – Mimi Khalvati
STRUCTURE.
A Ghazal is a traditional Persian love poem – just like the English sonnet.
It is written in couplets, and there are two rhyming couplets at the start and the end.
There is a strong rhythm as there are 12 syllables per line.
Every couplet ends in ‘me’ – so ‘me’ is the refrain. Her name is ‘Mimi’ so the repetition of ‘me’ sounds like her name and gives it a personal touch.
All the second to last words in each couplet rhyme.
A Ghazal traditionally uses a lot of metaphors.
Ghazals are written in rhyming couplets with the use of a refrain.
In a Ghazal, each couplet is a singular thought/image.
THEMES.
Points to feminism.
Women as the forgotten/invisible voice.
Love (Ghazal form.)
Multi-cultural perspective.
Islam.
RELATIONSHIP FOCUS.
Ghazals should be written to a moral beloved (a man or a woman), usually about unattainable love, written from the perspective of the unrequited lover.
Ghazals are ambiguous as they should also be written to a divine love which is directed towards God, and the love for God brings completion to the poet.

LINE BY LINE ANALYSIS.
If I am the grass and you the breeze, blow through me.
‘If’ is repeated often at the beginning of a couplet throughout the poem. This indicates possibilities. This suggests that it is an imagination rather than reality.
There is alliteration ‘breeze’, ‘blow’.
‘Grass’ is a noun, whereas the ‘breeze’ is an abstract noun as you can’t see it or feel it, but you know it’s there.
‘Grass’ is a rooted object so it is constant, which is the opposite of the ‘breeze’, which is not balanced an also symbolises independence and freedom. If she is constant but he is free to move and is independent, then this opens the possibility of unrequited love.
‘Grass’ is the Earth and the human stuck on the planet, ‘breeze’ is Heaven as it can be felt but cannot be seen.
‘Blow through me’ is the Breath of God.
If I am the rose and you the bird, then woo me.
‘Bird’, alongside ‘breeze’, symbolises independence and freedom.
‘Rose’, alongside ‘grass’ are parts of nature which is generally seen as beautiful, and she is comparing herself to these things.
The ‘rose’ needs to bird to survive through pollination.
‘Woo’ means impress, so perhaps since he’s got more freedom than her, she feels that he should impress her, which could relate to gender stereotyping.
‘Woo’ suggests that the bird is calling her to God and telling her not to be distracted by the world.

If you are the rhyme and I the refrain, don’t hang
‘Rhyme’ and ‘refrain’ come as a pair, so it needs at least 2 to fit together, just like her and whoever she is talking about.
‘Refrain’ is a repeated constant whereas the ‘rhyme’ is a measured constant to provide poetic artistry.
The ‘rhyme’ usually makes the effort whereas the ‘refrain’ simply repeats – showing that she is demanding.
The line ends with enjambment on ‘hang’, which coincides with the word ‘hang’ as the reader literally does this as they pause.
‘Don’t hang…on my lips’ indicates that she doesn’t want him to wait for her to speak – she wants him to do it without prompting.
The ‘rhyme’ is like God as it is the main thing and she is the ‘refrain’ as she keeps going back to him. on my lips, come and I’ll come too when you cue me.
‘Come and I’ll come too’ is sexual innuendo which relates to pleasure, although again it shows that she wants him to make an effort and an attempt, and after he has done this then she will follow. The sexual innuendo is also emphasised with the enjambment from the previous line.
‘Don’t hang on my lips’ means that she doesn’t know what to say, she needs him to ‘cue’ her.
She wants him to be proactive.
‘Cue me’ shows that she will give him hints, as long as he recognises them.
‘When you cue me’ places God with power as she wants God to direct and control her.
The words on the lips aren’t coming out as the words are from God and he has to cue her to do this.
If yours is the iron fist in the velvet glove
‘Iron’ and ‘velvet’ are contrasting materials. ‘Iron’ represents strength – what she would expect in a man, and ‘velvet’ represents gentleness which is how she describes herself.
This is almost an oxymoronic statement as ‘iron’ represents defiance whereas ‘velvet’ represents femininity. when the arrow flies, the heart is pierced, tattoo me.
The ‘arrow’ relates to cupid.
‘the heart is pierced’ implies damage.
‘Pierced’, and ‘tattoo’ are both methods in which impressions are made on someone – just like she would expect from him. They also represent permanence which she also seems to long for.
It could be talking about being pierced by love metaphorically, or it could be referring to internal scars and internal damaging.
‘The heart is pierced’ with faith in the heart, and the ‘tattoo’ is the mark of God that she wears permanently.
If mine is the venomous tongue, the serpent’s tail,
‘The venomous tongue’ indicates that her words are hard.
‘Venomous’ suggests poisonous words/bitterness, and so the unrequited lover has become embittered as she’s not getting what she wants.
‘Serpent’s symbolise a possible betrayal as there is a serpent in the Garden of Eden.
‘venomous tongue’ could be saying that sometimes she can be blasphemy and use words against God as sometimes she behaves like the ‘serpent’ and succumbs to temptation – she sometimes behaves in sinful and non-religious ways.

charmer, use your charm, weave a spell and subdue me.
‘Charmer’ can have two meanings – either a snake charmer that calms things using a spell or a charmer in terms of attraction.
She has previously referred to herself as the serpent so she wants him to calm and charm her.
‘Spell’ is magical and relates to ‘Hour’.
‘Subdue me’ means that she wants him to make her calm, so he should use his charm to stop her from getting out of control as she is not stable. This links back to previous links as she has gone from being the constant image to the unstable image, however she still places all the power on the man.
‘Weave a spell’ is her asking for God’s healing after she has sinned to counteract her wrong doing.
If I am the laurel leaf in your crown, you are
‘Laurel’ are leaves that are worn as a sign of victory, so she believes that she is his prize.
A ‘crown’ also represents strength and victory – he has the crown.
She is only talking about one ‘laurel leaf’ when in reality there would be many, so just one leaf would be insignificant in comparison, so she is stating that she is only one small segment of his glory. – Unrequited nature. He may have many leaves which are actually lovers but she is only one out of all of these.
There is only one ‘laurel leaf’ as we are only one piece of God’s glory.

the arms around my bark, arms that never knew me.
‘Arms around my bark’ represents hugging.
‘Bark’ indicates strength or a rough exterior.
‘Arms that never knew me’, shows unfamiliarity in the early stages of a relationship. There has been no physical relationship which is proof of the isolated or unrequited status – perhaps he has no awareness of her love for him.
She is showing herself as a tree, which gives the man two types of power. He can either hug her like a tree-hugger, or cut her down like a lumberjack. Hints at an unsatisfactory end from her point of view.
Alliteration.
‘Arms that never knew me’ suggests that she doesn’t know God as well as she would like to, and so she wants to embrace him, so this could be a poem about religious regret.
Oh would that I were bark! So old and still in leaf.
‘Oh would I’ shows that she wishes she was stronger and more settled.
‘So old and still in leaf’ means that although she is old she is still growing.
‘Still in leaf’ is a metaphor for youthfulness and this wish suggests that she is not young any longer.
The prospect of her wishing is almost like she is wishing for him too.

And you, dropping in my shade, dew to bedew me!
‘Dropping in my shade’ so that he can relax.
‘Dew to bedew me’ is a play on words as to ‘bedew’ something is to make something wet, which could be a sexual reference, and she is using the word ‘dew’, really meaning that he is due to do this.
‘Dew to bedew me’ could mean that he is the rain and the love giver. Dew only comes in the mornings but she is always waiting.
‘Dew to bedew me’ is her being renewed and replenished by God.
What shape should I take to marry your own, have you
This line begins with her questioning what she can do for him to love her, as she doesn’t know who to be.
Alliteration – she is matching sounds to represent her trying to ‘match’ him, like she is trying to be a shape for him.
She is trying to measure up to God by asking ‘what shape’ she should take.

– hawk to my shadow, moth to my flame – pursue me?
The hyphen shows a pause for thought.
A ‘hawk’ is dominant and predatory so she may be aware of his power.
The ‘hawk’ is free whereas the ‘shadow’ is grounded and is merely a dark reflection of his complete being. He is the hawk whereas she is simply the shadow.
‘Shadow’, ‘moth’ and ‘flame’ are all in contrast with each other. Moths move towards flames and are addicted almost to them, however if they get too close then they die, showing that she is dangerous.
‘Pursue me’ means chase after me, although she is questioning him.
The question mark suggests that he may not pursue her as they are incompatible – she could be warning him that she can only love him from afar or else he will get hurt – this shows that perhaps despite his power, the man is vulnerable.
Moths are winged creatures that are free to roam – so again she is saying that he is free.
‘Pursue me’ could be her asking God to pursue humanity with his omnipotence and so she wants him to follow her as she doesn’t trust herself.
As a ‘hawk’ is a predator, she may want God to pick her up if she is doing the wrong thing.
If I rise in the east as you die in the west,
This line represents the sun and the moon and the cycle of their relationship.
If she is the day and he is the night then they are complete opposites of each other and can never meet – unrequited.
Islam is more widely worshiped in the East than it is in the western world, or she could be referring to her as a poet always travelling, and to the fact that she feels more faithful when she’s in the East and at home, whereas when she travels away she feels like she doesn’t embrace her religion so much. die for my sake, my love, every night renew me.
‘My sake’ shows that she wants to be the reason, she wants to be his motivation, in a push and pull kind of relationship.
‘Die for my sake’ – would it be easier for her if he was dead as then he wouldn’t be there for her to love? – Is she saying that if she can’t have him then she’d prefer for him to die so that she can move on? – Sacrifice? Does she want him to die for her sins?
‘Renew me’ is sexual as it is referring to keeping it fresh, or it could be about faith, love or pain – every time she sees him she feels love but also pain as she cannot have him.
‘Die for my sake’ hints at a saviour or a martyr.
If, when it ends, we are just good friends, be my Friend,
‘Friend’ has a capital to suggest its importance and significance…so even when it ends he will still be more important than just a friend. This capital could refer to God rather than a person.
‘If when it ends’ could suggest that the relationship is entirely hypothetical, as she is imagining what could go wrong before she has even tried to love him, or it may have started but then soon fizzled out.
Capital F like G for God as she wants God as a friend and on her side. muse, lover and guide, Shamsuddin to my Rumi.
A ‘muse’ is someone who inspires an artist.
‘Lover’ suggests that she would want them to continue being friends with benefits.
‘Shamsuddin’ was a friend and mentor of ‘Rumi’, who is an important Persian figure, so without one there wouldn’t really be the other. ‘Rumi’ created Ghazal poetry.
God is a guide and is also someone to look up to.

Be heaven and earth to me and I’ll be twice the me
She is basically saying that if he is everything to her then she will be ‘twice the me’, which actually equals ‘Meme’, which is a pun as her name is ‘Mimi’, so in reality she will still be herself.
‘Heaven and earth’ is cliché as it is too colossal to actually feel, but does she mean this literally?
‘I’ll be twice the me’ suggests desperation as she is not good enough currently to grab his attention although she will work hard and earn it.
‘Twice the me’ is her trying to be better for God.
I am, if only half the world you are to me.
The enjambment makes the reader realise the pun intended regarding her name.
This seems to betray the entire mood of the poem which is ambiguous as it may reflect the night and day imagery as day is half of day and night.
This line suggests that God is not a part of her life as much as He should be as she is distracted so he is only half and she is only half as religious as she should be.