Question

A qataa, very simply, is a poem of four lines---a quatrain. It may occur in the middle of a ghazal (where the poet is unable to finish a thought in two lines, and chooses to use four). It may also be a stand-alone verse, un-embedded in any long poem. Here is an example of a stand-alone qataa from Faiz: Raat yoon dil mein teri khoi hui yaad aayi
Jaise veerane mein chupke se bahaar aa jaaye
Jaise sehraaon mein haule se chale baad-e naseem
Jaise beemar ko be-vajah qaraar aa jaaye Translation: Your faded memory visited my heart last night,
As if the spring came to the ruins, real quiet.
As if the zephyr silently cooled the desert,
And the sick, miraculously, gained some respite. Which of these is not true of a qataa?

• A. It is a four-line poem
• B. It is a stand-alone quatrain
• C. It is not a long poem
• D. It is embellished

Hint:

For comprehension-based questions, rely strictly on the information provided in the passage. Avoid bringing in external knowledge unless explicitly required. Look for keywords and direct statements to verify each option.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Look closely at how the passage introduces the qataa: it says a qataa is, "very simply," a poem of four lines. That phrase is a strong clue for this question, since it tells us the passage is describing something plain and unadorned, not something decorated or embellished.

1. It is a four-line poem: Stated outright as the core definition, so this is true.
2. It is a stand-alone quatrain: Also stated outright, since the passage says it can exist un-embedded in any long poem, meaning it can stand on its own. True.
3. It is not a long poem: A four-line verse cannot be a long poem by any reasonable measure, and the passage's own wording about it not needing to be embedded in a long poem backs this up. True.
4. It is embellished: If a qataa were meant to be described as embellished, decorated, or ornate, the passage would not have introduced it with the phrase "very simply." An embellished form would usually be described with words like elaborate, ornamented, or decorative, none of which appear anywhere in this passage. False.

The wording "very simply" rules out embellishment as a defining trait, while the other three options are all directly confirmed by the passage's wording.

Therefore, the correct answer is It is embellished.