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daa;G : 'A mark burnt in, a brand, cautery; mark, spot, speck; stain; stigma; blemish; iron-mould; freckle; pock; scar, cicatrix; wound, sore; grief, sorrow; misfortune, calamity; loss, injury, damage'. (Platts p.501)
FWP:
SETS == EXCLAMATIONS
MOTIFS == PERSONIFICATIONS
NAMES
TERMSThe question of tone is everything. SRF notes some of the possibilities. Is the speaker praising the wound/scar for being loyal, when all his other 'friends' had deserted him? Or is he expressing surprise, that anything is still left? Or is he ruefully noting that he has the worst of all worlds-- all his assets go, while his great liability remains?
And exactly what kind of entity is the speaker addressing? The word daa;G can refer either to a wound (one that could be expected to heal, or 'go'), or to a residual 'scar' (one that could be expected never to 'go'). The possibilities are further enhanced by a cluster of metaphorical extensions (see the definition above).
SRF leaves his comments about Faiz's verse unspoken in this case, but he perhaps means for us to notice that Faiz doesn't even try to provide much 'connection' between the lines, or any tight interlocking of imagery, or any wordplay. His verse does however have its own 'flowingness'. If we take Faiz to stand at the end of anything resembling the classical ghazal tradition, then we can see that a lot has been lost. Of course, Faiz's work also stands as part of the beginning of modern Urdu poetry, and SRF has been a conspicuous champion of poetic modernity and innovation as well.