An Analysis of the Meter of Oral Balochi Poetry

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, Chabahar University of Maritime and Marine Sciences, Chabahar, Iran.

Abstract

The Baloch people have a long tradition of written and oral poetry. Several centuries have passed since the earliest known Balochi poems were composed. Until about a century ago, Balochi poetry was mainly transmitted orally. Here, oral poetry does not refer to popular or folk poetry; rather, it refers to traditional and ancient poetry that existed in the memories of poets, poetry lovers, and musicians before it was recorded in written form. Considering the importance of the Balochi language and literature within Iranian literature, this study attempts to examine the metrical structure of Balochi oral poetry, which has preserved a greater degree of authenticity. The main purpose is to identify the particular metrical patterns and prosodic rules found in the Balochi language and traditional poetry. After examining 412 poems and poetic narratives by both anonymous and known poets that had been orally transmitted before being written down, the study concludes that ancient Balochi poetry is mainly based on quantitative prosody, with certain rules specific to the Balochi language. Syllabic and stress-based meters are also found, although they occur less frequently. This research was conducted using a descriptive and analytical approach, and its findings are presented in this article

Keywords

Main Subjects

Persian Language and Iranian Dialects

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 August 2026

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