May
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Week 9: The Ghazal
May 4, 2016 | Comments Off on Week 9: The Ghazal
This image depicts the ghazal as sacred poetry, and represents one of the major motifs of ghazals throughout history: wine drinking. In the foreground of the picture are a book and pen, representing the presence of the author. Farther from the camera is a wine bottle filled with light. Drinking wine and being drunk are often mentioned in ghazals, and can be interpreted in a variety of manners. Traditionally, these motifs are interpreted as metaphorical and religious: the narrator has been drinking the “wine of love” for God, and is completely consumed with piety. However, drinking wine is traditionally forbidden by Islam, and despite its symbolism, some people interpret such statements as heretical. Additionally, ghazals are typically addressed to an unnamed, unattainable Beloved. Most of the time, the Beloved is a name for God. However, there has been some historical debate over whether all such poems are indeed addressed to God, or whether some are actually disguised love poems to a mortal beloved.
In this image, I chose to interpret the act of writing a ghazal as a holy one. The light in the wine bottle represents the light of God, on which the author is metaphorically drunk. This light illuminates the author’s mind, facilitating his or her writing.