A Great Need

“Ghazal 85” by Hafez, translated by Roger Sedarat (14th century)

Translated by the Iranian American poet Roger Sedarat, Hafez’s “Ghazal 85” shares a similar ethos to “A Great Need.” Both poems deal with the threat of a companion or group member leaving. Unlike in “A Great Need,” the various companions in “Ghazal 85” leave.

Knowing the ghazal form’s rules helps decode the meaning behind “Ghazal 85.” Originating in Arabia around the 7th Century, the ghazal usually contains 10 lines, broken into couplets (a two-line stanza) at least. Poets often used it to discuss romance, loss, and metaphysical issues. Each couplet begins and ends a sentiment independent from the previous and following couplets. However, each couplet ends with a repeating rhyme (called the Qaafiyaa) and word (called the Radif). Poet introduces the Radif at the first and second lines’ ends of the opening couplet. The most similarities between “Ghazal 85” and “A Great Need” happen in the second couplet. One of the speaker’s fellow companions suggests their mutual companion left, “he felt constrained by us” (Line 3), so “He broke his chains alone” (Line 4). Both poems depict the group’s bond as a link, respectively chains and hands, breaking when the companion no longer loves the other members.