A Comparative Study of Prosodic Meters in the Creative Works of Asadullah Afif Bakhtari and Mohammad Sadeq Usyan’s Ghazals

Abstract

The poetry of Balkh’s poets is among the prominent representatives of Persian-Dari poetry, especially within Afghanistan’s literary geography. Prosody serves as the metric system of verse, in contrast to syntax, which governs prose. Based on the hypothesis that the metrical patterns (prosodic meters and their variations) in the poetry of the two Balkhi poets—Asadullah Afif Bakhtari and Mohammad Sadeq Usyan—exhibit certain differences, the findings reveal that both poets employed fixed-rhythm meters (mutakarib, ramal, rajaz, and hazaj) as well as mixed-rhythm meters (modare’, mojtas, and khafif). They utilized well-known variations of these meters: Afif employed 19 distinct meters and 22 variations, whereas Usyan used 17 meters and 21 variations in his poetry. The aim of this research is to examine and identify the prosodic meters in these poets’ works and to determine which poet has made greater use of metrical variations and prosodic forms. The research method is analytical-explanatory, focusing on the poems of Afif Bakhtari and Mohammad Sadeq Usyan, supported by references to relevant books and scholarly articles. It addresses questions such as: which prosodic meters have they used, and to what extent have these meters been employed in their poetry.