Maulana Hali And The Art Of Ghazal

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Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali is undoubtedly the founder of modern literature. He dedicated genres like criticism, poetry and biography with the taste of freshness. Muqadama Shair O Shairi is the first reliable example of theoretical criticism in Urdu. During his tenure in Lahore, he laid the foundation stone of the modern poetry movement along with Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad. Although he was educated under the shadow of Eastern literature, he soon got tired of its monotony. Western literature began to feel close to his heart. He loved the utilitarian aspect of literature. Ghazal, which is the most representative genre in Eastern literature, became a target of his criticism. It is generally believed that he was opposed to the ghazal genre, but the fact is that he disliked ghazal due to the homogeneity of the themes of the ghazal. He was opposed to excessive unnatural color in the ghazal. Hali was a practical person, so he wrote ghazals according to his ideas, which were not liked by a large section of Urdu literature and his ghazals were called unhealthy poetry. There is no doubt that Hali made Ghazal a subject of criticism for the first time like other poetry genres. His influence had a far-reaching impact on Ghazal. This article examines Maulana Hali's views on Ghazal.