Stringing Pearls:
The Forms of Persian Poetry

The three most commonly used forms for Persian Sufi poetry — the ruba‘i, ghazal, and mathnawi — are described and discussed in appendix 2 of Love’s Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition.

These recordings of the three samples given in the book illustrate how the poems sound in the original Persian. To listen to the recordings, a fast Internet connection is recommended, but a dial-up connection may work.

Ruba‘i, or quatrain

• Reading in Persian (204 KB)

Ghazal, or ode

• Reading in Persian (760 KB)

Mathnawi, or rhymed couplet

• Reading in Persian (320 KB)
• Reading in Persian with English translation and music (1.6 MB)

To listen to the recordings, open one of the web pages above and wait for the audio file to load. To hear the recording again, hit the reload button on your web browser after the audio file has played.