Ghazal
Rules quoted from the poets.org glossary; examples only from public-domain poems.
The rules, quoted
The ghazal is composed of a minimum of five couplets —and typically no more than fifteen—that are structurally, thematically, and emotionally autonomous.
The first couplet introduces a scheme, made up of a rhyme followed by a refrain .
Subsequent couplets pick up the same scheme in the second line only, repeating the refrain and rhyming the second line with both lines of the first stanza .
The final couplet usually includes the poet’s signature
Our explanation written by Tale of the Muse
A ghazal is a chain of at least five couplets, usually no more than fifteen, each able to stand on its own. The first couplet sets a rhyme followed by a refrain in both lines; every later couplet repeats that rhyme and refrain in its second line. The closing couplet often carries the poet's signature.
Our plain-language restatement of the glossary rules above. It adds no facts of its own.
Example
No public-domain example is shown for this form.