Omar Khayyam

This original does not question the value of the master’s teaching but shows regret and nostalgia for old school days

How ‘The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám’ inspired Victorian Hedonists

The Rubáiyát brought to mind sensuous embraces in jasmine-filled gardens on balmy Arabian nights, accompanied by cups of cool, intoxicating wine

Omar Khayyam

From T. S. Eliot to the Grateful Dead: echoes of FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:26

Juan Cole

it was used by Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley for a Grateful Dead poster in 1966, and for the cover of the group’s second live album in 1971

Iran

“All the Saints and Sages:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:25

Juan Cole

How long will sages debate if this world is eternal or created? / Once I have left it, why should I care, either way?

Iran

“Your Reward is Neither Here nor There!” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:24

Juan Cole

A Muezzín from the Tower of Darkness cries “Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!”

Iran

“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:23

Juan Cole

The grimness of the teaching, that life is short is leavened by lighthearted advice to enjoy yourself while you can

Iran

“And we, that now make merry in the Room:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:22

Juan Cole

Quatrain no. 22 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám again invokes the image of the way the living are walking atop those who lived and died before them, leaving them alone in the “room” of the world. The departed dead are dressed in blooms, i.e. flowers grow […]

Omar Khayyam

“And one by one crept silently to Rest:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:21

Juan Cole

Stanza 21 of the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues with the theme of the shortness of life and the finality of death, but introduces new emotions, of grief for lost loved ones and nostalgia for the past. These poignant lines have sometimes made me cry. We get […]

Iran

“Ah, my Belovéd, fill the Cup that clears:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:20

Juan Cole

Stanza no. 20 in in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám celebrates wine as a means of escaping lingering shame and the dread of an unknown future. It is about, as the hippies used to say in the 1960s, “being here now,” with a little help from a mind-altering substance. […]