Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
; fa, مطلع; az, mətlə; tr, matla; uz, matla; ur, مطلع) is the first '' bayt'', or couplet, of a ''
ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
''. In this sense, it is the opposite of the '' maqta'''. It is possible, although extremely rare, for there to be more than one ''matla'' in a ''ghazal''; in this case the second is referred to as ''matla'-e-sani'', literally 'the second ''matla''. It is important part because it establishes the overall form and mood of the entire ''ghazal''.
The defining feature of the ''matla'' is that both verses of the couplet rhyme, or expressed in technical terminology, both verses end with the ''
qafiya
In Persian, Turkic, and Urdu ghazals, the ''qāfiya'' (from Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Wenin ...
'' and '' radif'' of the ''ghazal''. In fact, the purpose of the ''matla'' is to define the qafiya and radif for the rest of the ''ghazal''.