Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

Pragmatic analysis of Sheikh Ayaz’s poem

“Not Me Alone”
Zafarullah jamali
Student of BS-IV (linguistics) IELL university of Sindh Jamshoro
Syed Ghulam Hyder Shah
Student of BS-IV (linguistics) IELL university of Sindh Jamshoro

Abstract:

In it’s basic communicative function, language is used for Implied

meaning through a tool “pragmatics” that is, how a addresser use
language to communicate in a particular situation by implication
rather than direct statement. Therefore the researcher attempt to explore
the beauty of the implied meaning used in the poem, when its view from
pragmatic perspective the actual splendor meaning would be explicit.
There are many tools that can be used for implication meaning in
poetry, among which are “rhetorical”, “figurative” or “literary”
devices. But only some of these would convey implied meaning, such as
metaphor, simile, metonymy , synecdoche, rhetorical, question,
symbolism and allusion. Besides pragmatic devices such as connotation
, pragmatic presupposition and deixis.
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper aimed to a pragmatic analysis of a Sheikh Ayaz’s poem “Not
me alone” which is translated from Sindhi by Asif Farrukhi and Shah
Mohammed Pirzada. This poem is selected to analyze its implied
meaning.
Man uses language in his every day life but he hardly used poetic function
of language of language, in poetic form he reveals the meaning which is
beyond the words which are used in poetry. He wants to convey emphatic
and aesthetic meaning by using particular poetic tools and pragmatic
devices. To get its complete meaning and actual message socio-cultural

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context and social values of that society are also prerequisite to into
account the analysis of poetry.
One of the tremendous use of language, its poetic function. That is the
reflection and interpretation of man’s socio-cultural belief and thoughts.
This submission is a veiled way and manners of affirming that poetry is
an appendage of literature is a “subset” of language.
Literature is non-existent in the absence of a language and it is also
significant to the growth of language due to the strategic role it plays in
the society at large. To Ayeleru (2012:126), “poetry is a work of literature
which is characterized by the presence of imagination, emotion, truth,
sense of expression and concrete language expressed rhythmically.” She
stresses that it is a tool that is employed by man to express feelings and
thoughts, divided into stanzas, lines or verses, concretises ideas, using
figurative language, among others. Poets have different things to say and
they use language skillfully, artistically and aesthetically to convey their
messages. Poetry is not a form of entertainment and in a certain sense not
even a form of art but our anthropological, genetic goal, our evolutionary
linguistic beacon.
To many learners of language , language is magical to accomplish it as
beginner in learning a language we remember a verses and quotes to
master language. So the fact is that, language itself is a complex agenda,
hence similar is case with poetry. Poetry goes beyond mere expression
and passive reading but the ability of the reader to decipher the mind and
intent of the poet. In fact, so complex and fearful is poetry to some people
especially learners of language. point of view Dasylva and Jegede (1997)
is that “poetry, to many, is a scary mystic, itis so regarded as something
inaccessible and a puzzle.” Language users, especially poets, deploy and
manipulate language with a view to conveying their information,
messages directly or indirectly and to specific readers as well as the
general populace. Poetry, therefore, is a vista to understanding the
complexity and the dynamism that are associated with language use.
II. PRAGMATICS
Various scholars and linguists have examined pragmatics as a
concept. A basic problem that is associated with description, definition or

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explanation in term of acceptance is the absence of universality

(Levinson, 2009). Pragmatics as a concept is not a difference. Alluding to
some insights of what pragmatics means and what it reflects is a vista to
its scope. Gadzar (1979, p. 2) is of the view that “pragmatics has as its
topic those aspects of the meaning of utterances which cannot be
accounted for by straightforward reference to the truth conditions of the
sentence uttered.” The point being stressed here is that it is not in all
situation (communicative) that language users express themselves directly
and that utterances and written expression could have hidden/deep
meanings which the listener(s) or reader(s) is expected to decipher. To
Crystal (1987, p.120), “pragmatics studies the factors that govern our
choices of language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on
others.” From this standpoint, it is pertinent to note that pragmatics is not
only concerned about what is actually said, but the factors (reasons)
responsible for it and why the writer/speaker has chosen to use certain
expressions/words at the expense of others.
It has also been averred by Lawal (2012) that pragmatics beams its
searchlight (attention) on the manner and consequences of
speaker/writer’s utterance. He adds that speech act is an integral part of it.
Speech act is part of sociolinguistic inquiry/investigation into the factors
of linguistic performance. Humans employ language to do a lot of things
such as making promise, issuing warnings, swearing, laying bets, among
others.
III. A SKETCH OF SHIEKH AYAZ BIOGRAPHY
Sheikh Ayaz is one of the major voices in twentieth century
poetry. His literary career spanned almost six decades and displayed
an amazing variety of poetry and prose, ranging from the traditional
bait, wa’i and ghazal, to play in verse, prosepoems and even
musings, and extending to fiction, memoires and journals,
polemical and literary essays, newspaper articles and editorials. To
each genre he brought his unique vision and transforming power of
language.
Sheikh Ayaz was a poet of the earth and the people, steeped in the
folklore and traditions of the soil that nourished his imagination and
at the same time a thoroughly modern and consummate craftsman

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whose work is delicate as the butterfly’s wings and powerful as the

lion’s roar. The translations of his work are rich and varied and
drawn from the poet’s life-work , recreating in the English
language The Voice of Sindh.
The pragmatic analysis on his poem is carried out on a eastern
poetic genre “Ghazal” which is a poetic form which has its origin
in Arabic. General but unconnected observations or descriptions
were made to get the audience to concentrate on the main theme of
an Ode or Qasida which meant either praise or satire of a person,
tribe or place.
In the time these introductory lines acquired a status independent of
the Ode and came to be called Ghazal, diverted from Ghazal or
Arabian deer. It meant being soft spoken and lyrical. Even in
Persian where the ghazal first prospered, the Shir were bound to
each other by metre an rhyme but were totally unrelated in theme.
The Ghazal is lyrical an symbolic an dit is one of the most popular
an elegant art forms of the Orient.
IV. PRAGMATIC DEVICES USED IN GHAZAL
Metaphor: The most important and widespread figure of speech, in
which one thing, idea, or action is referred to by a word or expression
normally denoting another thing, idea, or action, so as to suggest some
common quality shared by the two.
Simile: An explicit comparison between two different things, actions, or
feelings, using the words 'as' or 'like'.
Metonymy : A figure of speech which replaces the name of one thing
with the name of something else closely associated with it, e.g., 'the
bottle' for alcoholic drink, 'the press' for journalism, 'skirt' for woman,
'Mozart' for Mozart's music, 'the Oval Office' for the US Presidency.
Synecdoche: A common figure of speech by which something is referred
to indirectly, either by naming only some part or constituent of it (e.g.
'hands' for manual labourers) or- less often- by naming some more
comprehensive entity of which it is a part (e.g., 'the law' for a police
officer).

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Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

Rhetorical question: A sentence in the grammatical form of a question

which is not asked to request information or to invite a reply, but to
achieve a greater excessive force than a direct assertion.
Symbolism: Referring to the process by which a person, place, object or
event comes to stand for some abstract idea or condition'', (Quinn 2006:
408). The term is applied only to ''a word or phrase that signifies an object
or event which in its turn signifies something, or suggests a range of
reference, beyond itself.
Mythology: A kind of story or rudimentary narrative sequence, normally
traditional and anonymous, through which a given culture ratifies its
social customs or accounts for the origins of human and natural
phenomena, usually in supernatural or bodily imaginative terms.
Irony: A subtly humorous perception of inconsistency, in which an
apparently straightforward statement or event is undermined by its
'context' so as to give it a very different significance.
Allusion: A passing reference, without explicit identification, to a literary
or historical person, place, or event, or to another literary work or
passage.
Connotation: The range of further associations that a word or phrase
suggests in addition to its straightforward dictionary meaning (the
primary sense known as its denotation); or one of these secondary
meanings.
Pragmatic presupposition: This information is neither asserted, entailed
nor presupposed semantically, because it is not a property of the sentence
itself but of the extralinguistic context.
Deixis: Deictic expressions: person, spatial, temporal, social and
discourse deixis, (LoCastro 2012: 24). In English, first person (I, we),
second person (you), and third person (he, she, it and they) can refer to
the addresser, addressee, and others outside the immediate context.
V. SAMPLE ANALYSIS

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Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

The following four stanzas are taken from the Ghazal “Not me alone”
‫ مان نه رڳو‬which is one the revolutionary ghazals collection of Sheikh
Ayaz.
VI. NOT ME ALONE
‫بي موت مئا تو ال۽ ڪٺا انسان هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
‫هن دنڳا ۾ اي! ديس هئا نادان هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
They have died without their death , thousands of men
Not me alone-------------------------------------------------------------(1)
In this world of my country, thousands turned silly, Not me
alone…………………………………………………………………………(2)
‫اک ساري رات نه چڀڪي آ ۽ شنم شنم ٽپڪي آ‬
‫جي باک گھري ٿي بک اي! زندان هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
All night long eyes did not close and dew fell drop by drop…………(3)
If the morning cups its hands, then O prison
There will be thousands, not me alone…………………………………..(4)
‫ڇو چنڊ سان کي رات ٺري ڏي چانڊوڪي جو زهر ڀري‬
‫آ ڪيڏو پويون پهر پري حيران هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
Why does the moon fill the world with poison -------------------------- (5)
When will it be the last hour of the night,……………………………….(6)
Thousands wonder, not me alone………..…………………………….(7)
‫ تون چئو نه لڇان‬،‫تون چئو نه ڪڇان‬
‫پر توکان هڪڙي ڳاله پڇان‬
‫تون ڪنهن ڪنهن کي خاموش ڪندين اعالن هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
If you say so I’ll neither tremble nor cry……………………(8)
But let me ask you how many will you silence…………….(9)
Proclamations are thousands not me alone………………..(10)

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Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

‫هي دور اياز گذرڻو آ ۽ پنهنجو وارو ورڻو آ‬

‫هي ٻارڻ نيٺ ته ٻرڻو آ‬
‫امڪان هزارين مان نه رڳو‬
This period too, Ayaz will pass and our luck will turn---------------(11)
This fire will rage all the more………………………......................(12)
Possibilities are thousand, not me alone………………………….(13)

Metaphor:
Line #3 the whole sentence “ All the night eyes did not close and dew
fell drop by drop,” is metaphoric expression which means the poet
expressing the plight of prisoners. They keep shedding tears all night for
their sentences of uncommitted crimes.
Line #4 the phrase “If the morning cups its hands, then O prison,” which
states that if these tears are collected in the morning then there will be
very large number .
Line #5 the sentence “why does the moon fill the world with poison” is
metaphorically used, it states that when the night falls the moon appears
on the sky instead of giving delight gives grief to people.
Line #7 the phrase “thousands wonders” is metaphoric expression it
reveals that the poet wishes the end of this cruelty which is full of tyranny
and misery. People are waiting for the bright morning so that there can be
no more cruelty and compulsion.
Line #8 the phrase “I’ll neither tremble nor cry,” has been metaphorically
used, it states that the poet is not afraid of tyrants and their tyranny.
Line #10 the phrase ”proclamations are thousand,” it means people are
struggling for their rights how long they will keep suppressing them.
Simile: example not found
Metonymy:

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Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

Line #6, the phrase when will be the last hour of the night” here it is
example of Metonymy because the nigh means grief as vicious crime are
usually take place at night.
Synecdoche:
Line #2 the phrase “Thousands of men turned silly,” is Synecdoche
because poet is telling indirectly and about their demise and (silliness=
madness) of peoples. It reveals that people faced so much distress,
cruelty and compulsion, they have lost their senses. They have stood up
to stop this situation. They looked mad now. They can do anything now.
Rhetorical question:
Line #9 this phrase “but now let me ask you how many will you silence”
the poet asks the tyrants how long they will keep suppressing the people.
Symbolism:
Line #1, #2, #4, #7, #10 and 13 ” Not me alone “ it refers not individual
thought but a collective ideology of nation against tyranny, and thousands
of people think on same line.
Mythology: Example not found
Irony: Example not found
Allusion:
Line #1 “ They have died without their death” is the example of Allusion
because the poet is not giving here the explicit identification, he just
passing the reference here that they have died but he is not exposing the
reason.
Line #12 the phrase “this fire rage all the more” this means more
people will suppressed more they will strive for their rights and get their
ultimate success they will break all the suppressions
Connotation:

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Pragmatic analysis of Ghazal “not me alone”

Line #11 the term “luck will turn” which means that the nation will be
empowered they will get their rights and become free from all
suppressions.
Pragmatic presupposition:
Line #10 the phrase “possibilities are thousands” this phrase presupposes
that still there are many chances that people will unit and stand up to curb
this cruelty (of dictators in Sindh)
Deixis:
Line #4, #6 and #8, “there,” “it,” and “I”
Line #9 and in line #11 twice “you” is used to refer tyrants deictically
Line #11 “our” refers to suppressed people
VII. CONCLUSION
Through out the discussion and analysis it has been concluded:
The pragmatic analysis reveals that Sheikh Ayaz used multiple devices
to convey implied meaning in different ways and for various reasons.
He repeatedly used symbolism and emphasized through a phrase, that his
thought is collective thinktank of people of Sindh, they think in same line
as he does.
As far simile is concerned Ayaz did not use this device in his poem he
preferred more metaphoric expressions.
His poem “not me alone” comprises linguistic as well extralinguistic
knowledge in order to convey the actual social and political background
of Sindh and mismanagement of government that turned tyranny to its
people.
Irony is rarely used in written poetry as it depends heavily on the
phonological aspects of meaning.

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