Omar Khayyam

Stanza no. 13 of the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is about the free gifts we receive from nature. XIII. Look to the Rose that blows about us — “Lo, “Laughing,” she says, “into the World I blow:     “At once the silken Tassel of my Purse “Tear, and […]

As with stanza 1:8, the next quatrain in Edward FitzGerald’s 1859 translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám concerns the fleeting character of political glory, and of life in general. It continues to introduce English-speaking audiences to Iranian kings and heroes, the Persian equivalents of Agamemnon and Achilles: IX. But come with old Khayyam, and […]

Quatrain no. 8 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s loose translation of the FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is about the impermanence of all life — of flowers and of kings and heroes. It is a common theme in the Persian originals. I have argued that since some of this poetry grew up in […]

Stanza 7 of the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám talks about how little time we have here on earth, and the urgency for us to enjoy life. “Repentance” is a luxury we can’t afford, the poetry affirms: VII. Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring […]

The sixth quatrain of Edward FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues with its celebration of wine-drinking in the morning. It connects ancient Iran’s language of Middle Persian or Pahlavi, spoken in the Sasanian Empire 224–651 AD with the biblical figure of David, said in the Qur’an to be the author of the Psalms. VI. And […]