Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Turkic and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

poetry, the matla (from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

; ; ; ; ; ) is the first ''

bayt Bayt (Arabic: or Hebrew: , both meaning 'house'; there are similar words in various Semitic languages), also spelled bayit, bayyit, bait, beit, beth, bet, etc., may refer to: All pages with titles containing ''Bayt'' Jewish religious terms * Te ...

'', or couplet, of a ''

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

''. In this sense, it is the opposite of the ''

maqta' In Persian, Turkic and Urdu poetry, the maqta (from Arabic ; ; ; ; ; ) is the final '' bayt'', or couplet, of a ''ghazal''. In this sense, it is the opposite of the '' matla. The poet's ''takhallus'', or pen name, is usually employed in the ''ma ...

''. 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 husn e 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 ''

qafiya In Persian, Turkic, and Urdu ghazals, the ''qāfiya'' (from Arabic , ; ; ; ; ) is the rhyming pattern of words that must directly precede the ''radif In Persian poetry, Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry, Urdu ghazals, the ''radīf'' (from Arabic ...

'' and ''

radif In Persian poetry, Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry, Urdu ghazals, the ''radīf'' (from Arabic ; ; ; ; ; ) is the word which must end each line of the first couplet and the second line of all the following couplets. It is preceded by a ''qafiya'' ...

'' of the ''ghazal''. In fact, the purpose of the ''matla'' is to define the qafiya and radif for the rest of the ''ghazal''.

References

{{Persian literature Ghazal Urdu-language poetry