غَزَلِ حافِظ

2 کِه سَر  بِه کوه و بيابان تُو  دادَه‌اِی ما را 1 صَبا  بِه  لُطْف  بِگو  آن  غَزالِ  رَعْنا  را

 ke sar  be  ku | ho bi  ā   bān   | to  dā de   i    |  mā rā

 sa  bā  be  lut | FO be  gu  ān |  gha zā le ra` | nā rā

  S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L  |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L  

  S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L  

"you have driven me out onto the mountains and deserts [as hunters do to hunted before the hunt]"

 oh zephyr, please tell that graceful gazelle:

 
4 تَفَقُّدی نَکُنَد  طوطیِ  شَکَر خا  را 3 شَکَر  فُروش  کِه  عُمْرَش دَراز  باد  چِرا

 ta faq qo di  | na ko  nad tu  | ti  ye she kar | khā rā

she kar fo ru| SHO ke `om rash|de rā ZO bā| DO che rā

S    L   S   L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L      

S    L   S    L  |  S     S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  S  S  L      

does he not inquire after the (lost) sugar-chewing parrot (me, the poet)

 the sugar-seller who, may he live long, why

 
6 کِه پُرْسِشی  بِکُنی  عَنْدَليبِ  شَيدا را 5 غُرورِ  حُسْن  اِجازَت  مَگَر  نَداد  اَی گُل

 ke por se  shi | be  ko ni  `an  | da  li  be shay  |  dā rā

 gho ru re hos | NO e  jā  zat | ma gar na dā | day gol

S     L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L      

S    L    S    L  |  S    S   L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L       

that you ask after the frenzied nightingale

 has vanity not given permission oh rose

 
8 بِه  بَنْد و دام  نَگيرَنْد  مُرْغِ  دانا  را 7 بِه خُلْق  و لُطْف تَوان کَرْد صَيد ِ اَهْلِ  نَظَر

 be ban do dā | MO na gi ran | DO mor ghe dā | nā rā

be khol qo lut| FO ta vān kar| DO say de ah| le na zar

S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L     S     L  |  L  L     

S    L   S   L  |  S    S    L   L   |  S   L   S   L   |  S S  L       

one doesn't catch the wise bird with a snare or trap

 with good manners and gentleness can you make hunted the insightful ones

 
10 بِه  ياد  دار  مُحِبّانِ  باد  پَيما را 9 چُو  با  حَبيب  نِشينی  و  بادَه  پَيمايی

  be yā DO dā | RO mo heb bā | ne bā DO pay | mā rā

 cho bā ha bi | BO ne shi ni | yo bā  de pay | mā yi

 S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L  |  S    L    S    L  |  L  L       

S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L  

keep in mind the [deprived] lovers who [have the resources to only ] measure out air

 when you're sitting with the friend and measuring out wine

 
12 سَهی قَدانِ  سيَه چَشْمِ  ماه سيما را 11 نَدانَم  اَز  چِه  سَبَب  رَنْگِ  آشْنايی نيسْت

 sa hi qa  dā| ne si  yah  chash| me mā HO si| mā rā

 na dā na maz | che sa bab ran | ge ā  SHO nā | i nist

S   L   S   L  |  S    S     L      L  |  S    L   S    L  |  L  L       

S    L    S    L  |  S    S    L    L  |  S    L   S   L  |  L  EL      

the tall  ones with black eyes and moon-faces

 I don't know for what reason they have no hint [color] of recognition

 
14 کِه وَضْعِ  مِهْر  و وَفا  نيسْت روی زيبا را 13 جُز  اِين قَدَر  نَتَوان گُفْت دَر جَمالِ تُو عَيب

 ke vaz  `e  meh | ro va  fā    nis |  TO ru  i  zi  | bā rā

 jo zin qa dar | na ta vān gof | TO dar ja mā | le to `ayb

S    L     S     L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L       

S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  S  S  L       

that the condition of friendship and fidelity in not in a beautiful face

 except up to this extent one can't say there is a defect in your beauty  MORE!!

 
16 سَماعِ  زُهْرَه بِه رَقْص آوَرَد  مَسيحا را 15 دَر آسْمان نَه عَجَب  گَر  بِه گُفْتَة  حافِظ

sa  mā `e  zoh | re be  raq  sā | va  rad  ma si | hā  rā

da  rā SO mān | na `a jab  gar | be gof te ye  | hā fez

S    L   S    L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S    L  |  L   L       

S    L    S      L  |  S    S    L    L |  S    L   S   L  |  L  L       

the whirling [listening]  of Venus should bring the Messiah to dancing

 in the heavens it would not be a wonder if to the sayings of Hafez


Listen to this poem read in two different styles:

#1  The way it's supposed to be read.

 Hope you'll enjoy and try to imitate...

Notice it is not necessary to pause between feet or stichs and the emphasis  is on word stress rather than syllable length.

 

 #2  Read according to the meter.

 This style is provided only to show you the "behind-the-scenes" mechanics.  Poetry is never actually recited this way so don't try this in public! The trick is to always be conscious of the meter  but  make it look like you're not!  Listen to this style many, many times until it's in your blood, then throw it in the garbage and try to emulate the correct style to your left (#1)

 Listen

Listen


 

Pattern of meter :

--> Short Long Short Long | Short Short Long Long | Short Long Short Long | Short Short (Extra)Long

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

L(ong) is a long syllable, S(hort) is a short syllable and E(xtra)L(ong) is a syllable, usually restricted to the last foot, containing a consonant cluster. A long syllable may contain a consonant + short vowel + consonant OR consonant + long vowel. A short syllable contains a consonant + short vowel.  In the older stages of the Persian language, long vowels really were pronounced with a longer duration and short vowels a little shorter, however, this distinction has been lost in the modern language. Today, only a master poetry reader can produce this effect.

Meter (وَزْن ): It is essential to first figure out the meter of a poem before attempting to understand the meaning.  This is how you can tell, among other things,  where the ezāfe's go and how you can distinguish  words whose meaning depends on a tashdid  (for example serr ("secret") and sar ("head").
  Procedure:  
    First, mark off the long vowels: ā, i, u, and  long diphthongs: ay, aw (but careful if they are followed by a suffix)
    Then, mark off the short vowels: a, e, o
     
    When you see the pattern, deal with vowels which can be either long or short:
      final "he" unpronounced "he"
      word-final u/o (including the "vāv"  meaning "and" in poetry always pronounced (v)o)
      ezāfe's
      any other word-final short vowels
      /i/ + vowel (especially /iyā/)
     tashdid's and hamze's are sometimes made use of  and sometimes ignored.
    two Short syllables may be counted as one Long syllable
    The first syllable of a foot may (in certain meters) be short, even if the meter calls for it to be long.
    It takes some juggling  to figure out where one syllable ends and the next begins. Learn to ignore spelling--syllabic units transcend word boundaries.
    If you find you have 2 consonants, one-after-another (except "nun" + consonant), you need to break them up by adding a short vowel.  However,  in the last "foot" or section of the verse, it is ok to have a consonant cluster and that syllable is called "ExtraLong"
Hacking up the words of a poem to bits and pieces like this is called تَقْطيع   /taqti`/ "cutting" in Persian. In English it is called scanning. MORE!

References:

Divan-i Hafiz Khvajah Shams al-Din Muhammad (volume 1, #4, page 24)

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