The Matla (
Persian/
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
/
:) is the first ''
sher'', or couplet, of a ''
ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
'', a collection of poems in Urdu or Persian poetry.
It is possible, although extremely rare, for there to be more than one ''matla'' in a ''ghazal''; in this case the second is referred to as ''matla-e-sani'', literally the second matla. It is important part because it establishes the overall form and mood of the entire ghazal.
The defining feature of the matla is that both verses of the couplet rhyme, or expressed in technical terminology, both verses end with the