Characteristics of Ghazal in Hustle by Jericho Brown Essay Example

Introduction

Jericho Brown uses the various attributes of Ghazal to describe the different conditions and activities that are found in prison. Ghazal is a form of the amatory poem that originated from Arabic poetry. This form of writing is a poetic approach that expresses the feelings of the persona which includes the loss or separation as well as the beauty of love despite the pain that one is enduring. The Ghazal has made poets have a variety of ways to express their central themes of separation and attachment. The Ghazal is a short poem that consists of rhyming couplets that are known as Bayt and Sher. Therefore, correct Ghazal should have more than five couplets. The Ghazal couplets should end with the same rhyming pattern and have the same meter. The rhyme and refrain are the critical characteristics of this form of a poem. The rhyming in this form should end with such descriptions such as BA, CA, AA, DA, among others. This article will demonstrate how Jericho Brown uses the various characteristics of Ghazal that involve rhyming pattern to describe the different conditions and activities that are found in prison.

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Discussion

Jericho Brown uses the various components of a Ghazal such as couplets that involve rhyming to express essential themes such as judgment, race, and sexuality. Through the use of couplets and other forms of rhythm, Brown is comfortable talking on the various challenges that people face in prison. This poem is a Ghazal which makes it unique as it connects the various components of this form of expression to the problems that a man named Dwayne Betts undergoes while in prison. Brown introduces him in the first two lines and achieves the rhyming nature of a Ghazal. These first two lines have rhyming words such as hears and years, and prison and prison. This can catch the attention of the reader and express the intended emotions. 'They lie like stones and dare not shift, even sleep, everyone hears in prison. Dwayne Betts deserves more than this dry ink for his teenage years in prison' (Jericho E1). From these two brief lines, one can already infer that Dwayne is a man who has spent most of his teenage years in prison. Dwayne can be a character that has been created by Brown or even a real person who was close to him. This part can reflect his own life as he was tried as an adult at the age of sixteen after a carjacking incident and was sentenced to eight years in prison. The mention of Betts in this poem shows the corruption against the African-Americans in the justice system which makes them spend wrong time in jail.

The above couplet and the following couplets leave one wondering who is this Dwayne and makes the reader make guesses. The lack of contextual knowledge heightens the emotional impact of these lines. However, by assuming that Betts is an African-American, one can reflect on the injustices that other black people have undergone in the prison system as shown by the couplet, 'dry ink.' The individuals who are suffering 'dry ink' are not able to make up for people who are likely not even to get 'dry ink.' Brown argues that no one cares for the people who are in prison whom most of them are blacks. 'Lovers hustle, slide, and then dip in as if none of them has a brother in prison' (Jericho E1). These sentiments show that he is telling the reader that people do not understand the struggles of the black people and the various ways in which the black communities are usually torn apart by the injustices that are found in the prison system and no one cares.

The other couplet is the illusion of the 'Love Jones.' The white are given a less sentence for capital offenses that they commit while the blacks are given severe prison sentences for minor offenses or even crimes that they did not even commit. 'In the novel that I love, Brownfield kills his wife and only gets seven years in prison' (Jericho E1). Brown here points on the impossibility of ignoring the racism that is in the justice system which has made innocent black people suffer through serving ridiculous and unfair jail time. The characters that are in love are happy as they are not aware of the bad experiences found in prison. In the other couplet, brown calls out on the people who label the story that centers mostly around the lives of African-American characters as about race hence implying that the white characters are the 'default.'

Conclusion

'Hustle' shows the characteristics of a Ghazal as it has a series of various couplets that almost always end with the same phrase, 'in prison.' The couplets in this poem start with a different idea and an entirely new topic, such as dancing or laundry; they always find a way to end in prison. This statement shows that some individuals, especially African-Americans strive so hard to do things differently but ends up in trouble and are taken to prison due to the injustices in the justice system towards them. This form is also able to emphasize his main message which is to make the reader feel what it is to face a threat of own or loved one's imprisonment.

Works Cited

Jericho Brown, "Hustle" from the New Testament. (2014) Copper Canyon Press. Retrieved from; https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57692/hustle/