افتخار جالب کی مرتبہ ’’نئی شاعری‘‘ کا تنقیدی جائزہ

A Critical Analysis of 'Nayi Shayari' Compiled by Iftikhar Jalib

Abstract

This research paper presents a critical evaluation of the poetry anthology "Nai Shayari" (New Poetry) compiled by Iftikhar Jalib, a renowned critic, translator, and scholar of Urdu literature. Published during the 1960s, a transitional period in Urdu literary history, this anthology reflects the emergence of modernism in Urdu poetry following the decline of the Progressive Writers' Movement. Jalib’s compilation serves not only as a literary collection but also as a manifesto of modernist sensibilities and poetic experimentation. The primary aim of this study is to critically assess the literary and intellectual merit of Nai Shayari by examining Jalib’s selection criteria, his editorial approach, and the preface he penned, which outlines his modernist vision. His introduction to the anthology encapsulates the essence of modernist poetry—subjectivity, symbolism, alienation, fragmentation, and existential concerns. Jalib’s editorial decisions reflect a conscious effort to depart from traditional and progressive modes of expression, favoring a poetry of introspection, ambiguity, and linguistic innovation. The paper further explores the poetic and thematic characteristics of the poets featured in the anthology. It highlights how poets such as Nasir Kazmi, Muneer Niazi, Majid Amjad, Aftab Iqbal Shamim, and others contributed to the shaping of modernist poetics in Urdu. Their poetry reflects a deep sense of psychological turmoil, metaphysical questioning, emotional isolation, and philosophical abstraction. A linguistic and stylistic analysis of selected poems reveals an intricate use of metaphor, symbolism, and free verse—distinctive features of modernist aesthetics.