NINE == BIBLIOGRAPHY
*9.1
== Works in English*
*9.2
== Works in Urdu*
*9.3 == Web resources*
9.1 == Works in English
BAILEY,
T. Grahame. "A Guide to the Metres of Urdu Verse." Bulletin
of the School of Oriental and African Studies 2 9,4 (1937-39):969-985.
Contains an exhaustive and well-organized
list of meters, which the student may find helpful. Long and short
syllables are given, together with the corresponding [afaa((iil]
in transliteration, and the basic one-word name of the meter. Bailey
also gives a separate, short list of the most common meters that
is convenient for quick reference. In his brief introduction (pp.
969-972) he makes some confusing and very doubtful statements about
Urdu meter. But most of the article consists of the meter list.
This is not perfect: for example, 20.2 is wrongly scanned; 13.1
and 15.14 are extremely unlikely in Urdu; 24.1 is entirely nonexistent.
Moreover, he constantly interprets a meter with the permitted "cheat
syllable" used at the end as a whole separate meter. Still, the
list is thorough and basically useful.
BARKER,
M. A. R., and S. A. Salam. Classical Urdu Poetry.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Spoken Languages Services, Inc., 1977. 3 vols.
Volume I contains: Appendix I:
Urdu Poetics-- A.130 Scansion (pp. xxxv-xl); A.140 Measure and Metre
(pp. xl-xlvi); A.150 Catalexis (pp. xlvi-lxiv). An
account which touches on all the major points of metrical theory
and presents them with accuracy and technical sophistication. Syllables
are defined as "heavy (CVC or CV) and light (CV)," where C = consonant,
V = long vowel, and V = [zer], [zabar], or [pesh]. Thus agar
[a-gar] is scanned CV-CVC, kaam [kaa-m] as
CV-CV. To some students this notation is confusing. The list of
meters is given in a form that makes it hard to consult quickly:
meters are described only in terms of [afaa((iil], which are in
turn given only in the authors' transliteration. But references
are provided, so that the student can look up examples of the meter
as they occur in the anthology. This book is an excellent reference
work for students with enough background to make use of it. Any
student who can use our book can move on to Barker's work for further
study.
ELWELL-SUTTON, L.P. The
Persian Metres. London: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
xiv, 285 p.
The author's main thesis is that
Persian meters are not derived from the Arabic. It's a very controversial
idea, but presented with an admirable amount of analytic detail.
The transliteration system is not too easy to decipher. This work
will be of interest only to the advanced student, and preferably
one with a working knowledge of Persian.
KIERNAN, Victor, trans.
and ed. Poems by Faiz. London: George Allen and Unwin
Ltd., 1971. 288 p.
This is a beautiful book for the
student who is just learning to read Urdu and wants to practice
reading as well as scanning poetry. It contains a good selection
of Faiz's best poetry in gorgeous calligraphy, careful and reliable
transliterations of each poem on facing pages, and both literal
and "poetic" translations. Learners always find this book most attractive
and helpful. The student should, however, beware of pp. 13-14 of
the Preface, in which Kiernan illustrates his view that stress is
"clearly important" in Urdu poetry by giving some common meters
used by Faiz in terms of shorts and longs, "with accents added to
mark stress." The placement of these accent marks is apparently
determined only by his own intuition. The value of that intuition
can easily be judged: in every one of his six examples, the poem
that he cites to illustrate a certain meter is not in that meter
at all.
MANUEL, Peter L. "The
Relationship between Prosodic and Musical Rhythms in Urdu Ghazal-Singing."
In: Studies in the Urdu Gazal and Prose Fiction,
ed. by Muhammad Umar Memon. Madison: Center for South Asian Studies,
University of Wisconsin, 1979. Pp. 101-119.
An interesting and informative
article. It contains some minor inaccuracies in the description
of meters; the student who has used this handbook will easily spot
them. But they do not affect the points being made about performance
theory and practice.
MATTHEWS,
D. J., and C. Shackle. An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love
Lyrics; Text and Translations. London: Oxford University
Press, 1972. 283 p.
Contains: Appendix I: Notes on
Prosody and Meter (pp. 210-213). An extremely condensed account
of Urdu meter, basically accurate though inevitably oversimplified.
Scansion rules are briefly given. The meter list contains all the
meters appearing in the book, described in terms of longs and shorts,
with full references so that the poems in which a particular meter
is used can easily be located. A note of caution: the patterns given
are sometimes misleadingly simple. The optional initial short syllable
in certain meters is not shown, even though it occurs in poems in
the book (e.g. 15.5, pp. 128-9). But considering the brief scope
of this account, it is a very good one.
PLATTS,
John T. A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1884 (1st ed.) and many later reprints
in England and New Delhi. viii, 1259 p.
While this classic dictionary
has nothing directly to do with meter, it's the English-speaking
student's best friend, and anyone who doesn't already own it should
get it. Fortunately various Indian and sometimes Pakistani editions
are constantly kept in print, and are not even very expensive as
modern books go. No one who does anything with classical Urdu literature
should be without it. The fact that it's now available online
doesn't at all exempt the serious student from needing to own it.
Even better is to own two copies. (Or more, of course.)
PYBUS,
Captain G.D. A Textbook of Urdu Prosody and Rhetoric.
Lahore: Ramakrishna and Sons, 1924. viii, 151 p.: ON
THIS SITE.
Contains: Part I: Prosody-- Chapter
2, Scansion (pp. 6-16); Chapter 3, Metre (pp. 17-21); Chapter 4,
Catalexis (pp. 22-46) (on the derivation of meters); Appendix I--
Specimens of the common metres for practice in scansion (pp. 126-133).
This is a treasure of a book and we recommend it above every other
for the serious student. It explains traditional Urdu prosody accurately
and in considerable detail, starting with saakin
[saakin], "quiescent," and muta;harrik [muta;harrik],
"movent," letters and proceeding to the [afaa((iil], then to the
meters and their derivations. It is as lucidly written as possible,
given the very complex material it is dealing with. Any student
interested in reading Urdu works on meter should certainly master
the material in this book first. Other chapters in Part I besides
those mentioned above are also useful, and Part II, "Rhetoric,"
is worth reading as well. This is the only book in English that
teaches the student to understand Urdu poetry the way the literarily
educated native speaker has traditionally done.
QURESHI, Regula. "Tarannum:
the Chanting of Urdu Poetry." Ethnomusicology 13,3
(Sept. 1969):425-468.
-------. "Islamic Music
in an Indian Environment: the Shi`a Majlis." Ethnomusicology
25,1 (Jan. 1981):41-71.
-------. Sufi
Music of India and Pakistan: Sound and Meaning in the Qawwali.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. With cassettes.
The author of these and many other
books and articles is a musician herself who sings and plays ghazal
beautifully. Much of her work will be of interest to students for
its account of the ways in which Urdu poetry is sung and recited
nowadays, especially in Islamic religious contexts.
RUSSELL,
Ralph. "Some Problems of the Treatment of Urdu Metre." Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society (Apr. 1960), pp. 48-58.
Begins with a discussion of the
difficulties of traditional scansion, and proceeds to a critique
of Grahame Bailey's approach. Russell then develops the thesis that
stress, or ictus, "is almost as important an element in Urdu metre
as quantity is" (p. 57). His argument rests heavily on the example
of Mir's "Hindi" meter. This example may well be considered, however,
a dubious one on which to base wider generalizations about Urdu
meter. An interesting presentation of a controversial thesis.
RUSSELL,
Ralph, and Khurshidul Islam. Three Mughal Poets: Mir, Sauda,
Mir Hasan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. xxii,
290 p.
Contains: Appendix: A Complete
Ghazal of Mir (pp. 271-277). Russell and Islam here give an account
of Mir's "Hindi" meter in qualitative Western metrical terms, as
a sequence of "spondees" and "dactyls" with a "beat" on the odd-numbered
syllables. An intriguing approach, once again emphasizing stress,
or ictus. If this approach can be applied at all to Urdu meter,
it is certainly to "Hindi" meter rather than to the more conventional
meters.
RUSSELL,
Ralph. A Primer of Urdu Verse Metre. London: by the
author, mimeographed and ringbound, 1974. Pages not numbered.
Contains Russell's views on the
nature of Urdu meter, in a simplified form appropriate to students
just beginning to study the subject (Lessons 1-4). Offers examples
consisting of ghazals by Momin, Zafar, and Ghalib (Lessons 5-8)
and a passage from Hali's [musaddas] (Lesson 9), all transliterated,
scanned, translated, and discussed. The book also reproduces Bailey's
meter list (minus Bailey's introduction) in Appendix 2. A helpful
treatment of the subject, in a disarmingly colloquial style. Russell
suggests, for example, a resemblance between the common meter (=
- = = / = - = = / = - = = / = - =) and the rhythmic structure of
"Oh My Darlin' Clementine." A beginning student could certainly
use this book with enjoyment and profit, though it's impossible
to agree with its insistence on stress as an analytical approach
to Urdu meter.
THIESEN, Finn. A
Manual of Classical Persian Prosody; With Chapters on Urdu, Karakhandic
and Ottoman Prosody. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1982.
274 p.
A detailed and sophisticated account;
the author is not only learned in the classical theory, but also
at home with modern linguistic methods of notation and analysis.
Thiesen's specific account of Urdu prosody (pp. 181-209) is devoted
mostly to the ways in which it deviates from the Persian norms he
has already discussed. Examples are given throughout, in both original
script and transliteration, with translations. For the advanced
student who wants to put Urdu meter in as thoroughly Persian a perspective
as possible, this book will be of great value. It also contains
an account of the circles or "wheels" used by Arabic and Persian
prosodists to generate all the classical meters (pp. 102-165), and
a meter list (pp. 227-255) of the meters as used in Persian.
9.2 == Works in Urdu
[in Urdu alphabetical order by title]
aahang-e
shi((r by abuu :zafar
((abd ul-vaa;hid [aahang-e shi((r] by [abuu :zafar ((abd ul-vaa;hid].
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Urdu Academy, 1978.
This work discusses meter and
rhyme in great detail, making reference to the Hindi system as well.
It is hard to use, since it is unsystematic and somewhat rambling.
It contains a helpful glossary of terms, pp. 327-386.
ba;hr
ul-fa.saa;hat by najm
ul-;Ganii [ba;hr ul-fa.haa.hat] by [najm ul-;Ganii]. Lucknow:
Naval Kishor Press, 1885 (1st ed.); 1926 (2nd ed.); 1927 (3rd
ed.). 1232, 2 p.
This voluminous work on Urdu poetics
contains one sizable chapter, perhaps a couple of hundred pages,
on meter. It is more commonly used as a reference today than the
other works named in this section. It is simpler, more detailed,
and better organized than the works by Auj or Faqir.
chiraa;G-e
su;xan by mirzaa yaas
yagaanah changezii [chiraa;G-e su;xan] by [mirzaa yaas yagaanah
changezii]. Lucknow: Siddiq Book Depot, 1927(?) [1914]. c.144 p.
This work, first published in
1914, is unsystematic and disorganized. It is notable, however,
for listing ALL variants, even the rarest and oddest, of the Urdu
meters.
;hadaa))iq
ul-balaa;Gat by shams
ud-diin faqiir [;hadaa))iq ul-balaa;Gat] by [shams ud-diin faqiir].
Trans. by imaam ba;xsh .sahbaa))ii [imaam ba;xsh
.sahbaa))ii]. Kanpur: Naval Kishor Press, 1915. 192 p.
The famous Indian rhetorician
and poet Shamsuddin Faqir composed the original work in Persian
in 1768. It was translated into Urdu in 1842; the translator replaced
the Arabic and Persian examples with ones drawn from Urdu. The work
deals with all branches of literature, and includes an extensive
chapter on meter (pp. 123-174). It is comparatively well-organized
and non-theoretical; it includes chapter headings, which make it
easier to consult than some similar works.
dars-e
balaa;Gat , ed. by shams
ur-ra;hm;aan faaruuqii [dars-e balaa;Gat], ed. by [shams ur-ra;hm;aan
faaruuqii]. New Delhi: Bureau for the Promotion of Urdu, Government
of India, 1981. 192 p., index.
A primer on meter designed for
undergraduates; very simply written, it is accurate and avoids controversial
issues. It seeks to explain scansion and other metrical issues in
language understandable to modern native speakers with no special
background. The book also contains an unusual glossary of Urdu poetic
terms and their nearest English counterparts. The chapters on meter,
scansion, and rhyme were written by Faruqi, and most of the rest
carefully edited by him. This book is in print, and would be an
excellent starting point for the student who is ready to read metrical
material in Urdu.
zar-e
kaamil ((ayaar by mu:zaffar
((alii asiir [zar-e kaamil ((ayaar] by [mu:zaffar ((alii asiir].
Lucknow: Naval Kishor Press, 1903. 2nd ed.; 308 p.
A translation of the famous Persian
treatise mi((yaar ul-ash((aar , attributed
to na.siir ud-diin :tuusii (d. 1079). The
original work, without its numerous examples, is only about sixty
pages long, and Asir's is a parallel-text version with commentary.
A condensed but thorough and systematic account of Arabic and Persian
meter. Extremely abstruse, and considered to be the most authoritative
work on the subject.
.si;h;hat-e
alfaa:z by sayyid badr
ul-;hasan [.si;h;hat-e alfaa:z] by [sayyid badr ul-;hasan]. Delhi:
Kutbkhanah Anjuman Taraqqi-e Urdu, 1977. 119 p.
The whole book consists of a series
of lists of Urdu words that are difficult or problematical for various
reasons. The book is clearly laid out and contains an index; the
student should have no trouble using it. Perhaps the most helpful
list is that of frequently mispronounced words (pp. 9-42). Each
word in the list is followed by its metrically correct division
into syllables.
((aruu.z
aahang aur bayaan by shams
ur-ra;hm;aan faaruuqii [((aruu.z aahang aur bayaan] by [shams
ur-ra;hm;aan faaruuqii]. Lucknow: Kitab Nagar, 1977. 258 p., index.
Thoughtful and original discussions
of some problematical aspects of Urdu meter, by a critic versed
in both Urdu and English poetic theory. The essays are difficult,
but well worth the effort for the serious student. Among the topics
discussed: flexible syllables, the caesura (not recognized at all
in traditional theory), the creation of seemingly different rhythms
within the same meter. The book also includes a glossary of traditional
metrical terms (pp. 250-258), with clear and concise definitions.
((ilm-e
((aruu.z o qaafiyah o taarii;x go))ii
by ;hasan kaa:zim ((aruu.z ilaahaabaadii [((ilm-e
((aruu.z o qaafiyah o taarii;x go))ii] by[;hasan kaa:zim ((aruu.z
ilaahaabaadii]. Allahabad: by the author, 1974. 96 p.
This small volume is not notable
for orderly arrangement or clear presentation. However, it is generally
accurate, and very handy for quick reference.
qavaa((id
ul-((aruu.z by .safiir
bilgraamii [qavaa((id ul-((aruu.z] by [.safiir bilgraamii].1844(?).
Safir Bilgrami was a shaagird
of Ghalib's; this book is considered quite authoritative.
kiliid-e
((aruu.z by zaar ((allaamii
[kiliid-e ((aruu.z] by [zaar ((allaamii]. Patiala, 1981. 208 p.
Said to have been available from
the Editor of sham((a-e ;xayaal , Gangoh,
Saharanpur. The author is a well-known prosodist of the old school;
his ustaad in prosody and poetry was
si;hr ((ishqaabaadii (d. 1978), a famous and expert student
of meter. Allami claims that a student can learn prosody directly
from this book without additional instruction. Yet in fact, his
style is jerky, his presentation unsystematic, and his definitions
often cryptic. At times he implies that the rules of classical prosody
are sacrosanct, but at other times he deviates from the rules without
giving any reason for it. He spends much of his time providing examples
of rare variant meters of types so unusual that they hardly ever
actually occur. However, he provides detailed and useful charts
of the meters and variations, or zi;haafaat
[zi;haafaat], which are for the most part extremely accurate. He
provides a small chapter on rhyme as well.
miqyaas
ul-ash((aar by mirzaa
mu;hammad ja((far auj [miqyaas ul-ash((aar] by [mirzaa mu;hammad
ja((far auj]. Lucknow: Matba`-e Ja`fari, 1886. 336, 4 p.
The most exhaustive, authoritative,
and painstaking of the classical works on Urdu meter.
9.3 == Web resources
At present, the only site I know of is one maintained by Mr. Mohammed
Khashan: [site]
