Genres
اصناف
Urdu literature across its poetic and prose forms.
Ghazalغزل
Lyric poems of love and loss in rhyming couplets.
poetry
Nazmنظم
Poems built around a single theme or idea.
poetry
Rubaiرباعی
Four-line poems that turn on a final thought.
poetry
Marsiyaمرثیہ
Elegies, especially on the tragedy of Karbala.
poetry
Qasidaقصیدہ
Odes of praise, often long and ornate.
poetry
Masnaviمثنوی
Narrative poems in rhyming couplets.
poetry
Dastanداستان
Epic tales of adventure and wonder.
prose
Afsanaافسانہ
The modern Urdu short story.
prose
Novelناول
Long-form fiction.
prose
Dramaڈراما
Plays and dramatic writing.
prose
Criticismتنقید
Literary criticism and theory.
prose
Essayمضمون
Essays, articles and reflections.
prose
Biographyسوانح
Lives of writers and thinkers.
prose
Lettersخطوط
Correspondence and epistolary writing.
prose
Otherمتفرق
Everything else.
prose