Radif
A word or phrase repeated at the end of successive lines or couplets in Persian poetry, following the rhyme word.
Qafiya: The rhyme word or phrase placed immediately before the radif in Persian poetry. Qafiya supplies the rhyme that the repeated radif follows.
Ghazal rhyme scheme: The pattern in which a ghazal’s opening couplet rhymes in both halves and later couplets rhyme in their second halves. The scheme specifies the positions where qafiya and radif recur.
Rubai: A Persian quatrain form with a characteristic meter and rhyming pattern. A radif can be added to the recurring rhyme pattern of a rubai.
Rhyme: The correspondence of sounds, usually at line endings, in poetry or verse. Radif follows the rhyme word rather than replacing its sound pattern.
Ghazal: A lyric poem of rhyming couplets, often centered on love, longing, or spiritual themes. The ghazal commonly uses a radif after the rhyme in its opening and closing lines.
Radif in the ghazal matla: The repeated ending shared by both hemistichs of a ghazal’s opening couplet. Its paired appearance establishes the poem’s recurring refrain.
Masnavi: A Persian narrative poem in rhyming couplets, with each couplet able to carry its own rhyme. Its changing couplet rhymes make a single continuing radif unnecessary.
Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words. Both devices create sonic recurrence, but alliteration works within lines rather than at fixed endings.
Beyt: A Persian poetic couplet consisting of two hemistichs, or half-lines. In a ghazal, the radif typically closes both halves of the opening couplet.
Radif in the ghazal maqta: The repeated ending at the close of a ghazal’s final couplet. The final couplet returns to the established ending, often alongside the poet’s pen name.