Masnavi (poetic form)
Encyclopedia
Masnavi, or mathnawī, is the name of a poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically, “a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines”. Most mathnawī followed a meter
of eleven, or occasionally ten, syllable
s, but had no limit in their length. The mathnawi consists of an indefinite number of couplet
s, with the rhyme scheme
aa/bb/cc.
Mathnawī have been written in Persian
, Arabic, Turkish
, and Urdu
cultures.
s and adaptations of Persian mathnawī. The oldest known Turkish mathnawī is a didactic poem called Kutadgu Bilig
.
Turkish mathnawī are strongly driven by their plot, and are usually categorized into three genre
--mutaḳārib (heroic), ramal (religio/didactic), and hazadj (romantic). Some mat̲h̲nawī were written with an understanding that the audience would appreciate the importance of the subject of the poem, but some were also written purely for entertainment
purposes.
Mat̲h̲nawī remained prominent in Turkish literature
until the end of the Ottoman Empire
, when it began to transform into more conversational and rhetorical literature. Few Turkish mat̲h̲nawī have been translated into a modern language
.
Early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī began in the 11th/17th century. In the beginning of this period, many mat̲h̲nawī were religious in nature, but then grew to include romantic, heroic, and even secular stories. Early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī were influenced by Dakkanī literature, as well as Persian mat̲h̲nawī. Because of this influence, many early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī were translations of Persian mat̲h̲nawī, although there are some original early Urdu mat̲h̲nawīs.
Middle Urdu mat̲h̲nawī became prominent in the 12th/18th century, when Urdu literature
broke away from the Dakkanī tradition. In the 12th/18th century, romantic mat̲h̲nawī became very popular. Another new convention that appeared in middle Urdu mat̲h̲nawī was authors using their own personal experience
s as a subject for their poem.
Modern Urdu mat̲h̲nawī began in the 13th/19th century, during a time of literary reform. Mat̲h̲nawī as a whole became much shorter, and the traditional meters stopped being observed. These mat̲h̲nawī dealt more with everyday subjects, as well as providing a medium for children's poetry
.
or a rhyme scheme within the ending words of two lines, and follows a specific meter. It is very similar to the Persian, Urdu, and Turkish mathnawi, with one major difference. Most Muzdawidj follows an aaa/bbb/ccc pattern, while the other mathnawi follow an aa/bb/cc pattern.
s). The first known mat̲h̲nawī poem was written in the Sāmānid period (4th/10th century). Despite certain dates indicating a possibility otherwise, modern scholars believe it is a continuation of an Iran
ian verse form, not of its Arabic counterpart(there is some debate that the word mat̲h̲nawī is derived from Arabic, but most scholars believe that the Persians coined the word themselves).
Mat̲h̲nawī are usually associated with the romantic, didactic, and romantic genres, but are not limited to them. There is great variety among Persian mat̲h̲nawī, but there are several conventions that can help a reader recognize a mat̲h̲nawī poem. Most mat̲h̲nawī have a distinction between the introductory and body paragraph
s (although it is not always easy to determine where that is), praise of the one God and prayers, a eulogy
of the Prophet, reflections on the value of poetry, and occasionally a description of an object as a significant symbol
.
Certain Persian mat̲h̲nawī have had special religious significance in Sufism
, such as Rumi’s Mathnawi-i Ma’nawi, which consists of 6 books/25,000 verses, which has been used in prayer
among many Sufi’s, such as the Whirling Dervishes. While some Islam
ic legalists find the practice unconscionable, Sufi Abu Hamid al-Ghazali supported the use of poetry as worship
.
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
of eleven, or occasionally ten, syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s, but had no limit in their length. The mathnawi consists of an indefinite number of couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
s, with the rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines...
aa/bb/cc.
Mathnawī have been written in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Arabic, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
cultures.
Turkish mat̲h̲nawī
Turkish mathnawi began developing in the 8th/14th century. Persian mathnawi influenced Turkish authors, so many Turkish mathnawī (at first) were creative translationTranslation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
s and adaptations of Persian mathnawī. The oldest known Turkish mathnawī is a didactic poem called Kutadgu Bilig
Kutadgu Bilig
The Kutadgu Bilig, or Qutadğu Bilig , is a Karakhanid work from the 11th century written by an Uyghur author of Balasagun for the prince of Kashgar. Translated, the title means something like "The Wisdom which brings Happiness" or "The Wisdom that Conduces to Royal Glory or Fortune" , but has...
.
Turkish mathnawī are strongly driven by their plot, and are usually categorized into three genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
--mutaḳārib (heroic), ramal (religio/didactic), and hazadj (romantic). Some mat̲h̲nawī were written with an understanding that the audience would appreciate the importance of the subject of the poem, but some were also written purely for entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
purposes.
Mat̲h̲nawī remained prominent in Turkish literature
Turkish literature
Turkish literature comprises both oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today...
until the end of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, when it began to transform into more conversational and rhetorical literature. Few Turkish mat̲h̲nawī have been translated into a modern language
Modern language
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication and dead classical languages such as Latin, Attic Greek, Sanskrit, and Classical Chinese, which are studied for...
.
Urdu mat̲h̲nawī
Urdu mat̲h̲nawī are usually divided into three categories- early, middle, and late.Early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī began in the 11th/17th century. In the beginning of this period, many mat̲h̲nawī were religious in nature, but then grew to include romantic, heroic, and even secular stories. Early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī were influenced by Dakkanī literature, as well as Persian mat̲h̲nawī. Because of this influence, many early Urdu mat̲h̲nawī were translations of Persian mat̲h̲nawī, although there are some original early Urdu mat̲h̲nawīs.
Middle Urdu mat̲h̲nawī became prominent in the 12th/18th century, when Urdu literature
Urdu literature
Urdu literature has a long and colorful history that is inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is written...
broke away from the Dakkanī tradition. In the 12th/18th century, romantic mat̲h̲nawī became very popular. Another new convention that appeared in middle Urdu mat̲h̲nawī was authors using their own personal experience
Personal experience
Personal experience of a human being is the moment-to-moment experience and sensory awareness of internal and external events.-History:An early belief of some philosophers of Ancient Greece was that the mind was like a recording device and simply kept somehow-objective records of what the senses...
s as a subject for their poem.
Modern Urdu mat̲h̲nawī began in the 13th/19th century, during a time of literary reform. Mat̲h̲nawī as a whole became much shorter, and the traditional meters stopped being observed. These mat̲h̲nawī dealt more with everyday subjects, as well as providing a medium for children's poetry
Children's poetry
Children's poetry is poetry written for, a stupid reson as she says or appropriate for children. This may include folk poetry ; poetry written intentionally for young people Children's poetry is poetry written for, a stupid reson as she says or appropriate for children. This may include folk...
.
Arabic mat̲h̲nawī
Arabic mathnawi poetry is called muzdawidj. It is a poetic style that includes alliterationAlliteration
In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
or a rhyme scheme within the ending words of two lines, and follows a specific meter. It is very similar to the Persian, Urdu, and Turkish mathnawi, with one major difference. Most Muzdawidj follows an aaa/bbb/ccc pattern, while the other mathnawi follow an aa/bb/cc pattern.
Persian mat̲h̲nawī
In Persian mat̲h̲nawī, the poems strictly adhere to a meter of 11 syllables, occasionally ten. While the length of a mat̲h̲nawī is not prescribed and is therefore unlimited, most of the better known mat̲h̲nawī are within a range of 2,000-9,000 bayts (verseVerse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
s). The first known mat̲h̲nawī poem was written in the Sāmānid period (4th/10th century). Despite certain dates indicating a possibility otherwise, modern scholars believe it is a continuation of an Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian verse form, not of its Arabic counterpart(there is some debate that the word mat̲h̲nawī is derived from Arabic, but most scholars believe that the Persians coined the word themselves).
Mat̲h̲nawī are usually associated with the romantic, didactic, and romantic genres, but are not limited to them. There is great variety among Persian mat̲h̲nawī, but there are several conventions that can help a reader recognize a mat̲h̲nawī poem. Most mat̲h̲nawī have a distinction between the introductory and body paragraph
Paragraph
A paragraph is a self-contained unit of a discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. A paragraph consists of one or more sentences. The start of a paragraph is indicated by beginning on a new line. Sometimes the first line is indented...
s (although it is not always easy to determine where that is), praise of the one God and prayers, a eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
of the Prophet, reflections on the value of poetry, and occasionally a description of an object as a significant symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
.
Certain Persian mat̲h̲nawī have had special religious significance in Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, such as Rumi’s Mathnawi-i Ma’nawi, which consists of 6 books/25,000 verses, which has been used in prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
among many Sufi’s, such as the Whirling Dervishes. While some Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic legalists find the practice unconscionable, Sufi Abu Hamid al-Ghazali supported the use of poetry as worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
.