Irsoli masal and rhyme

Irsoli masal is the art of strengthening a thought by bringing into a poem or speech a proverb, saying, idiom or wise word well known among the people. “Irsol” means bringing, “masal” means example or proverb. In Old Uzbek proverbs and idioms were called “zarb ul-masal”, while modern linguistics calls them phraseological units. The device is found even in the earliest written works such as “Qutadg‘u bilig” and “Hibat ul-haqoyiq”, but it is especially frequent in Lutfiy’s work. According to the textbook, all five couplets of his ghazal “Ayoqingg‘a tushar har lahza gisu...” are built on this device: in each couplet the proverb comes in the second line and confirms the thought of the first. So the poet reinforces his idea twice.