The Shahr Ashob is a genre that became prominent in Urdu poetry in South Asia, with roots in classical Persian and Urdu poetic lamentation. It has early medieval origins in the twelfth century or earlier, but came into wide use among poets from the late Mughal Empire through the post-Mughal era of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Scholars regard ashob as an important historical genre in Persian, Urdu and Turkish literature, used by writers to express anguish and sorrow over political and social upheaval.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleA shahr ashob by Mir Taqi Mir beginning My friends all seemed to death, near 1 Defining TraitFive to six stanzas with the first four lines rhymed together 1 FAQs
What does the name Shahr Ashob mean?
It is Persian for the city's misfortune.
Shahr Ashob, also written Shahr-i Ashob, is Persian for the city's misfortune. The name fits the genre, which became prominent in Urdu poetry in South Asia and grew out of classical Persian and Urdu poetic lamentation. Scholars regard it as an important historical genre in Persian, Urdu and Turkish literature, used by writers to express anguish and sorrow over political and social upheaval.
How is a shahr ashob poem built?
Five to six stanzas whose first four lines rhyme together.
A shahr ashob typically opens with a detailed depiction of a particular moment, such as a war or an invasion, delivered in a tone of anguish. It consists of five to six stanzas, normally written so that the first four lines rhyme together. The fifth line rhymes with none of them and sums up the emotions expressed in the stanza.
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Source Wikipedia: Shahr Ashob
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Wikipedia: Shahr Ashob
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Shahr Ashob
Introduction, first sentence
is a genre that becomes prominent in Urdu poetry in South Asia with its roots in classical Persian and Urdu poetic lamentations.
Poems written in ashobs section
My friends all seemed to death, near
Description paragraph on structure
It consists of five to six stanzas normally written in rhymed verse for the first four lines. The first line rhymes with the second, third and fourth.
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