syair

Syair is a traditional Malay poetry form that presents narrative or didactic content in four-line stanzas. In most versions, all four lines of a stanza share the same end rhyme, creating a monorhyme within each stanza. The language is formal and elevated, and the verse is usually long, intended to be recited aloud—sometimes with musical accompaniment.

The genre arose in the Islamic literary milieu of the Malay world and proliferated in areas such as Aceh, the Malay Peninsula, and Minangkabau-speaking regions, before spreading to surrounding areas. It functioned as a vehicle for storytelling, moral instruction, religious reflection, and social commentary, and was transmitted orally and in manuscript form.

A prominent example is Hamzah Fansuri's Syair Siti Zubaidah, dated to the early modern Malay literary period. Syair differs from pantun and other Malay verse forms: it is longer and more narrative, whereas pantun is typically a shorter, aphoristic four-line stanza with a different rhyme pattern.

Today syair remains a subject of study in Southeast Asian literature and is performed at cultural events and in educational settings. While less common in contemporary everyday writing, it continues to influence modern poets and preserve a key element of traditional Malay literary heritage.