The Urdu poetry is widely read among the masses of different nationalities. It is believed to be a rich source of mental simulation and enrichment of the thought process. Urdu language has seen several great poets in different parts of the world who contributed a lot in making this poetry reach its intellectual pinnacle. Different poets used different forms of poetry to express themselves. Their works ranged from epic poems to romances and haikus. Although there are different forms of Urdu poetry, however, the forms that can truly be regarded as the foundations of the Urdu poetry are the Nazm and the Ghazal. In fact, it can be rightly said that the Nazm and Ghazal have shaped the Urdu poetry. There are several significant differences between the Nazm and the Ghazal. The main difference is that the Nazm is objective in nature in contrast to the Ghazal, which is subjective in nature. Almost all the other differences between the Nazm and the Ghazal are due to the difference in their nature (i.e. objectivity and the subjectivity). The Nazm can be as long or as short as the poet wants it to be, however usually the Ghazal is restricted to 8 to 10 verses. As the Nazm is objective in nature, it has to follow a single theme or topic throughout. Every verse of the Nazm is related to the same theme. However, this is not true for the Ghazal. A Ghazal can point to different things in each of its couplet. Each couplet of a Ghazal can point to an entirely different theme or topic. To understand one verse of a Nazm one must read the whole or at least the preceding part of the Nazm before that verse to have background knowledge. However, each couplet of a Ghazal can be understood easily in isolation. Rhyming is an important but not a necessary element of Urdu poetry. This fact is highlighted by another difference in the Nazm and the Ghazal. The Ghazal essentially has rhyming couplets. However, the verses of the Nazm may or may not rhyme strictly with each other. In fact this rhyming is the factor that binds different couplets of a Ghazal, which may have entirely different meanings otherwise. The first verse of a Ghazal is called â€matla’ and the last one is called â€maqta’. In a Ghazal, it is essentially the â€maqta’ where the poet can use his penname or â€takhalus’. The Nazm has no such restrictions. The poet can use his penname or â€takhalus’ anywhere in a Nazm. The Ghazal is not divided into any further subcategories. However, the classic Nazm is divided into categories according to its range of topics and patterns. The three subcategories of the Nazm are Masnavi, Marsia, and Qasida. The masnavi is usually written on a particular religious, didactic, or romantic theme. The Marsia is used to express the sorrow and agony on the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A), his family and disciples in Karbala. The Qasida is meant to praise a royal, a Nobel, or a prestigious person. So, the Nazm and the Ghazal are two distinctive and fundamental forms of Urdu poetry, which will continue to inspire and enrich their readers’ minds.
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