The Noble Science of the Ghazal : The Urdu Poetry of Mirza Ghalib

This book’s main mission is to present a general introduction to the Urdu Ghazal itself as well as to the works of Mirza Ghalib, arguably still the greatest Urdu poel. It also provides the opportunity for those already familiar with the genre to genre to examine the Divan-e-Ghalib in a new perspective, by providing a concentrated analysis of certain central words, motifs, and image clusters taken together in a novel anthological approach.
 
The central thesis of the book is that these motifs, as utilized by Ghalib, are not important in and by themselves, but in the relationships among them. The poet’s innovative exploration of these connections reflects brilliantly the myriad of complex conditions and tensions of human existence itself. The book focuses on the phenomenon of poetic love, the figure of the beloved (in her various manifestations), and the triad of locations central to Ghaib’s ghazals: the lane of the beloved, the lover’s house, and the desert. These traditional topoi are examined in detailed and comprehensive sequence, comparing and contrasting Ghalib’s ingeniously inventive approach to the tradition.

The final chapter discusses three of Ghalib’s best-known Ghazals, in order to show the breadth, universality and continuing relevance, even to the current era, of Ghalib’s distinctive voice and philosophical vision.

The book concludes with an index uniquely designed to be a useful interactive companion to the book itself, to be consulted as needed in order to aid the reader in understanding Ghalib’s poetry in a non-linear-we might say-nuclear perspective. (jacket)