kborsden
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The masnavi is a poetic form of Ottoman/Persian origin. Its theme is usually of a spiritual nature. One of the better known is the Masnavi-i Ma’navi of Rumi, which consist of more than 25000 couplets. An abridged version translated by E.H. Whinfield, (1898) (this translation doesn’t rhyme, it is a literal translation).
The masnavi form consists of an indefinite number of couplets and follows the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc/dd etc.
I thought we could build one ourselves, using the line structure of 10 syllables. We can each write 8 lines following the same or similar theme and see where it gets us. Anyone interested?
I’ll begin:
I shall repent and kneel to that shimmer,
Holding my faith within twisted glimmers
Of a candle burning in my lone light
To cast off the sinful curl of the night.
I shall breathe a tasteful air of the lord,
Never striking the sole angelic chord
Of my distraught, solemn ivory bone,
Instead hark measured words spoken as moans.
The masnavi form consists of an indefinite number of couplets and follows the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc/dd etc.
I thought we could build one ourselves, using the line structure of 10 syllables. We can each write 8 lines following the same or similar theme and see where it gets us. Anyone interested?
I’ll begin:
I shall repent and kneel to that shimmer,
Holding my faith within twisted glimmers
Of a candle burning in my lone light
To cast off the sinful curl of the night.
I shall breathe a tasteful air of the lord,
Never striking the sole angelic chord
Of my distraught, solemn ivory bone,
Instead hark measured words spoken as moans.
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