Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 1

Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamThe Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

رباعیات عمر خیام

Front cover of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam translated by Edward FitzGerald, illustrated by Willy Pogány

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام) is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translationof a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and numbering about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám(1048–1131), a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer. A ruba'i is a two-line stanza with two parts (orhemistichs) per line, hence the word rubáiyát (derived from the Arabic language root for "four"), meaning"quatrains".

TranslationsThe nature of a translation very much depends on what interpretation one places on Khayyam's philosophy. The factthat the rubaiyat is a collection of quatrains – and may be selected and rearranged subjectively to support oneinterpretation or another – has led to widely differing versions. Nicolas took the view that Khayyam himself clearlywas a Sufi. Others have seen signs of mysticism, even atheism, or conversely devout and orthodox Islam. FitzGeraldgave the Rubaiyat a distinct fatalistic spin, although it has been claimed that he softened the impact of Khayyam'snihilism and his preoccupation with the mortality and transience of all things. Even such a question as to whetherKhayyam was pro- or anti-alcohol gives rise to more discussion than might at first glance have seemed plausible.

Edward FitzGerald versions

illustration for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:"Earth could not answer; nor the Seas that

mourn"

The translations best known in English are those by Edward FitzGerald(1809–1883).

• 1st edition – 1859 [75 quatrains]• 2nd edition – 1868 [110 quatrains]• 3rd edition – 1872 [101 quatrains]• 4th edition – 1879 [101 quatrains]• 5th edition – 1889 [101 quatrains]Of the five editions published, four were published under the authorialcontrol of FitzGerald. The fifth edition, which contained only minorchanges from the fourth, was edited after his death on the basis ofmanuscript revisions FitzGerald had left.FitzGerald also produced Latin translations of certain rubaiyat.As a work of English literature FitzGerald's version is a high point ofthe 19th century and has been greatly influential. Indeed, the term"Rubaiyat" by itself has come to be used to describe the quatrain rhymescheme that FitzGerald used in his translations: AABA.

However, as a translation of Omar Khayyam's quatrains, it is not notedfor its fidelity. Many of the verses are paraphrased, and some of themcannot be confidently traced to any one of Khayyam's quatrains at all.Some critics informally refer to the FitzGerald's English versions as

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 2

Page of illuminated manuscript by WilliamMorris, illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones,

1870s.

"The Rubaiyat of FitzOmar", a nickname that both recognizes theliberties FitzGerald inflicted on his purported source and also creditsFitzGerald for the considerable portion of the "translation" that is hisown creation.

In fact, FitzGerald himself referred to his work as "transmogrification"."My translation will interest you from its form, and also in manyrespects in its detail: very un-literal as it is. Many quatrains are mashedtogether: and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is somuch a virtue in him" (letter to E. B. Cowell, 9/3/58). And, "I supposevery few People have ever taken such Pains in Translation as I have:though certainly not to be literal. But at all Cost, a Thing must live:with a transfusion of one’s own worse Life if one can’t retain theOriginal’s better. Better a live Sparrow than a stuffed Eagle" (letter toE. B. Cowell, 4/27/59).

Perhaps the most famous of FitzGerald's verses is this one, of whichthe final version is much beloved:

Quatrain XI in his 1st edition:

Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,

A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness -

And Wilderness is Paradise enow.

Quatrain XII in his 5th edition:

"A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness--

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!"

Illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan forQuatrain 11 of Fitzgerald's First Version.

The following are several samples of Fitzgerald's translation,concluding with another well-known verse (FitzGerald's quatrain LI inhis 1st edition):

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 3

Illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan forQuatrain 12 of Fitzgerald's First Version.

Illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan forQuatrain 51 of Fitzgerald's First Version.

Some for the glories of this world; and someSigh for The Prophet's Paradise to come;Ah, take the cash and let the credit go,Nor heed the rumble of a distant drumAnd much as Wine has played the InfidelAnd robbed me of my robe of Honour, well ...I often wonder what the vintners buyOne half so precious as the stuff they sellFor some we loved, the loveliest and bestThat from His rolling vintage Time has pressed,Have drunk their glass a round or two before,And one by one crept silently to restBut helpless pieces in the game He plays

Upon this chequer-board of Nights and DaysHe hither and thither moves, and checks ... and slaysThen one by one, back in the Closet lays"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ,Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor WitShall lure it back to cancel half a Line,Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

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Graf von SchackAdolf Friedrich von Schack (1815–1894) published a German translation in 1878.Quatrain 151 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

Gönnt mir, mit dem Liebchen im GartenrundZu weilen bei süßem Rebengetränke,Und nennt mich schlimmer als einen Hund,Wenn ferner an’s Paradies ich denke!

Omar Kayyim'

Friedrich von BodenstedtFriedrich Martinus von Bodenstedt (1819–1892) published a German translation in 1881. The translation eventuallyconsisted of 395 quatrains.Quatrain IX, 59 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

Im Frühling mag ich gern im Grüne weilenUnd Einsamkeit mit einer Freundin teilenUnd einem Kruge Wein. Mag man mich schelten:Ich lasse keinen andern Himmel gelten.

Edward Henry WhinfieldTwo English editions by Edward Henry Whinfield (1836-1922) consisted of 253 quatrains in 1882 and 500 in 1883.Quatrain 84 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

In the sweet spring a grassy bank I soughtAnd thither wine and a fair Houri brought;And, though the people called me graceless dog,Gave not to Paradise another thought!

J.B. NicolasThe first French translation, of 464 quatrains in prose, was made by J.B. Nicolas, chief interpreter at the FrenchEmbassy in Persia in 1867.Prose stanza (equivalent of Fitzgerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

Au printemps j’aime à m’asseoir au bord d’une prairie, avec une idole semblable à une houri et une cruche devin, s’il y en a, et bien que tout cela soit généralement blâmé, je veux être pire qu’un chien si jamais je songeau paradis.

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John Leslie GarnerAn English translation of 152 quatrains, published in 1888.Quatrain I. 20 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

Yes, Loved One, when the Laughing Spring is blowing,With Thee beside me and the Cup o’erflowing,I pass the day upon this Waving Meadow,And dream the while, no thought on Heaven bestowing.

Justin Huntly McCarthyJustin Huntly McCarthy (1859–1936) (Member of Parliament for Newry) published prose translations of 466quatrains in 1889.[1]

Quatrain 177 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):In Spring time I love to sit in the meadow with a paramourperfect as a Houri and goodly jar of wine, and thoughI may be blamed for this, yet hold me lowerthan a dog if ever I dream of Paradise.

Richard Le GallienneRichard Le Gallienne (1866–1947) produced a verse translation, subtitled "a paraphrase from several literaltranslations", in 1897. In his introductory note to the reader, Le Gallienne cites McCarthy's "charming prose" as thechief influence on his version. Some example quatrains follow:

Look not above, there is no answer there;Pray not, for no one listens to your prayer;Near is as near to God as any Far,And Here is just the same deceit as There.(#78, on p. 44)

And do you think that unto such as you;A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew:God gave the secret, and denied it me?--Well, well, what matters it! Believe that, too.(#85, p. 47)

"Did God set grapes a-growing, do you think,And at the same time make it sin to drink?Give thanks to Him who foreordained it thus--Surely He loves to hear the glasses clink!"(#91, p. 48)

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Edward Heron-AllenEdward Heron-Allen (1861–1943) published a prose translation in 1898. He also wrote an introduction to an editionof Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo) ’s translation into English of Nicolas’s French translation.Example quatrain (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

I desire a little ruby wine and a book of verses,Just enough to keep me alive, and half a loaf is needful;And then, that I and thou should sit in a desolate placeIs better than the kingdom of a sultan.

Franz ToussaintThe best-known version in French is the free verse edition by Franz Toussaint (1879–1955) published in 1924. Thistranslation consisting of 170 quatrains was done from the original Persian text, while most of the other Frenchtranslations were themselves translations of FitzGerald's work. The Éditions d'art Henri Piazza published the bookalmost unchanged between 1924 and 1979. Toussaint's translation has served as the basis of subsequent translationsinto other languages, but Toussaint did not live to witness the influence his translation has had.Quatrain XXV (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):

Au printemps, je vais quelquefois m’asseoir à la lisière d’un champ fleuri. Lorsqu’une belle jeune fillem’apporte une coupe de vin, je ne pense guère à mon salut. Si j’avais cette préoccupation, je vaudraismoins qu’un chien.

A. J. ArberryIn 1959, Professor A. J. Arberry, a distinguished scholar of Persian and Arabic, attempted to produce a scholarlyedition of Khayyam, based on thirteenth-century manuscripts. However, his manuscripts were subsequently exposedas twentieth-century forgeries.

Robert Graves and Omar Ali-ShahWhile Arberry’s work had been misguided, it was published in good faith. The 1967 translation of the Rubáiyat byRobert Graves and Omar Ali-Shah, however, created a scandal. The authors claimed it was based on atwelfth-century manuscript located in Afghanistan, where it was allegedly utilized as a Sufi teaching document. Butthe manuscript was never produced, and British experts in Persian literature were easily able to prove that thetranslation was in fact based on Edward Heron Allen's analysis of possible sources for FitzGerald’s work.[2]

Quatrains 11 and 12 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):Should our day's portion be one mancel loaf,A haunch of mutton and a gourd of wineSet for us two alone on the wide plain,No Sultan's bounty could evoke such joy.A gourd of red wine and a sheaf of poems —A bare subsistence, half a loaf, not more —Supplied us two alone in the free desert:What Sultan could we envy on his throne?

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Peter Avery and John Heath-StubbsA modern version of 235 quatrains, claiming to be "as literal an English version of the Persian originals asreadability and intelligibility permit", published in 1979 by Peter Avery and John Heath-Stubbs. Their editionprovides two versions of the thematic quatrain, the first (98) considered by the Persian writer Sadeq Hedayat to be aspurious attribution.

98.I need a jug of wine and a book of poetry,Half a loaf for a bite to eat,Then you and I, seated in a deserted spot,Will have more wealth than a Sultan's realm.234.If chance supplied a loaf of white bread,Two casks of wine and a leg of mutton,In the corner of a garden with a tulip-cheeked girl,There'd be enjoyment no Sultan could outdo.

Karim EmamiIn 1988, the Rubaiyat were translated by a Persian translator for the first time. Karim Emami's translation of theRubaiyat was published under the title The Wine of Nishapour in Paris. The Wine of Nishapour is the collection ofKhayyam's poetry by Shahrokh Golestan, including Golestan's pictures in front of each poem.[3] Emami was anoutstanding translator of English in Iran, who had also translated many contemporary Persian poems.Example from Emami's work:

It's early dawn, my love, open your eyes and ariseGently imbibing and playing the lyre;For those who are here will not tarry long,And those who are gone will not return.

Example quatrain 160 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition, as above):In spring if a houri-like sweetheartGives me a cup of wine on the edge of a green cornfield,Though to the vulgar this would be blasphemy,If I mentioned any other Paradise, I'd be worse than a dog.

Ahmed RamiAhmed Rami, a famous late Egyptian poet, translated the work into Arabic. His translation was sung by UmmKulthum.

Ahmad SaidiIn 1991 Ahmad Saidi (1904–1994) produced an English translation of 165 quatrains grouped into 10 themes. Born and raised in Iran, Saidi went to the United States in 1931 and attended college there. He served as the head of the Persian Publication Desk at the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II, inaugurated the Voice of America to Iran, and prepared an English-Persian military dictionary for the Department of Defense. His quatrains include the original Persian verses for reference alongside his English translations. His focus was to faithfully

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convey, with less poetic license, Khayyam’s original religious, mystical, and historic Persian themes, through theverses as well as his extensive annotations. Two example quatrains follow:Quatrain 16 (equivalent of FitzGerald's quatrain XII in his 5th edition, as above):

Ah, would there were a loaf of bread as fare,A joint of lamb, a jug of vintage rare,And you and I in wilderness encamped—No Sultan’s pleasure could with ours compare.

Quatrain 75:The sphere upon which mortals come and go,Has no end nor beginning that we know;And none there is to tell us in plain truth:Whence do we come and whither do we go.

Other languages• Many Russian-language translations have been undertaken, reflecting the popularity of the Rubaiyat in Russia

since the late 19th century and the increasingly popular tradition of using it for the purposes of bibliomancy. Theearliest verse translation (by V. L. Velichko) was published in 1891. The version by Osip Rumer published in1914 is a translation of FitzGerald's version. Rumer later published a version of 304 rubaiyat translated directlyfrom Persian. A lot of poetic translations (some based on verbatim translations into prose by others) were alsowritten by German Plisetsky, Konstantin Bal'mont, Ts. Banu, I. Tkhorzhevsky, L. Pen'kovsky, and others.

• In Polish, several collections of Rubaiyat have appeared, including one by Professor Andrzej Gawroński, which isregarded as the best.

• Poet Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven (1873–1932, author of Die Stem van Suid-Afrika) produced the firsttranslation in Afrikaans. Herman Charles Bosman wrote a translation in Afrikaans published in 1948.

• Eric Hermelin translated the Rubaiyat into Swedish in 1928.• G. Sankara Kurup produced a translation into Malayalam (1932)• Thirunalloor Karunakaran translated the Rubaiyat into Malayalam in 1989.• Duvvoori Ramireddy translated the Rubaiyat into Telugu in 1935.• Maithili Sharan Gupt and Harivanshrai Bachchan translated the book into Hindi in 1959.• Kantichandra Ghosh, Muhammad Shahidullah (in 1942), Kazi Nazrul Islam (in 1958) and Shakti Chattopadhyay

(in 1978) produced translations into Bengali• D. V. Gundappa translated the work into Kannada as a collection of poems titled "Umarana Osage" in 1952• Gopal Chandra Kanungo illustrated and translated the book into Oriya in 1954. Devdas Chhotray adapted Edward

Fitzgerald's work in Oriya and recorded it in musical form in 2011.• Sir John Morris-Jones translated direct from Persian into Welsh in 1928.• Thomas Ifor Rees produced a Welsh translation, published in Mexico City in 1939.• Francesco Gabrieli produced an Italian translation (Le Rubaiyyàt di Omar Khayyàm) in 1944. Alessandro Bausani

produced another translation in 1965.• Fraînque Le Maistre produced a Jèrriais version (based on FitzGerald's 1st edition) during the German occupation

of the Channel Islands 1940–1945.• Robert Bin Shaaban produced a version in Swahili (dated 1948, published 1952)• Kerson Huang based a Chinese version on FitzGerald's version. Other than that there are altogether 48

translations(partial or complete) into Chinese, the complete list can be found at Baidu Baike.• In 1990, Jowann Richards produced a Cornish translation.• Scottish poet Rab Wilson published a version in Scots in 2004.

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• Fan Noli produced an Albanian translation, the melody and poetics of which are highly regarded.• At least four versions exist in the Thai language. These translations were made from the work of Edward

FitzGerald many years ago. Their respective authors are HRH Prince Narathip Prapanpong, Rainan Aroonrungsee(pen name: Naan Gitirungsi), Pimarn Jamjarus (pen name: Kaen Sungkeet), and Suriyachat Chaimongkol.

• Haljand Udam produced an Estonian translation.• The poet J. H. Leopold (1865–1925) rendered a number of Rubaiyat in Dutch.• The Kurdish poet Hajar translated the Rubaiyat in his Chwar Parchakani Xayam, which is also available as an

audiobook in which the narrator sings the verses.• Armenian poet Kevork Emin has translated several verses of the Rubaiyat.• The Assyrian journalist and poet Naum Faiq translated the Rubaiyat into the Syriac language.• The Assyrian author Eshaya Elisha Khinno translated the Rubaiyat into Sureth (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic)• In Finnish language first translations were made by Toivo Lyy in 1929. More recently Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila

(1999 and 2008) and Kiamars Baghban with Leevi Lehto (2009) have translated Khayyam in Finnish.• The earliest translation in Hungarian consisted of a few stanzas taken from the French version of Nicolas, by Béla

Erődi in 1919-20. Lőrinc Szabó finalized his translation of the Fitzgerald version in 1943.• First Czech translator is Josef Štýbr. At first he translated from English (from Fitzgerald's "translations") (1922),

after that from original language (1931). Translation from original can be found on Czech wikisource (770poems). Next translators are mentioned here.

• The first translator into Slovene was Alojz Gradnik, his translation being published in 1955. It was translatedagain by slovene translator and poet Bert Pribac in 2007 from the French Toussaint edition.[4]

• The first translation of nine short poems into Serbo-Croatian was published in 1920, and was the work of Safvetbeg Bašagić. In 1932, Jelena Skerlić-Ćorović re-published these nine, alongside 75 more poems. In 1964, a notedorientalist Fehim Bajraktarević published his translation of Rubaiyat.

• Hồ Thượng Tuy translated from English into Vietnamese (from FitzGerald’s 1st edition) in 1990.• Nguyễn Viết Thắng produced a Vietnamese translation of 487 rubaiyat, translated from English and Russian in

1995, published in Hanoi in 2003.• Xabier Correa Corredoira published a Galician translation in 2010.• Hemendra Kumar Roy translated the Rubaiyat into Bengali.•• Christos Marketis translated 120 rubaiyat into Greek in 1975.• Srimadajjada Adibhatla Narayana Das (1864–1945) translated the original Persian quatrains and Edward

Fitzgerald's English translations into Sanskrit and pure-Telugu. Pandit Narayana Das claimed his translation wasmore literal than that of Fitzgerald. See: Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu

• In Japan, until 1949, more than 10 poets and/or scholars made translations into Japanese.[5] The first completetranslation from Persian into the modern Japanese language was made by Ryosaku Ogawa in 1949, which is stillpopular and has been published from Iwanami Shoten (it is now under public domain and also freely availablefrom Aozora Bunko). Historically, the first attempt is 6 poems translated by Kambara Ariake in 1908. In 1910,Kakise Hikozo translated 110 poems from the 5th edition of FitzGerald's translation. The first translation fromPersian into the classical Japanese language was made by a linguist Shigeru Araki in 1920. Among other varioustranslations, Ogawa highly evaluates Ryo Mori (ja:森 亮)'s one produced in 1931.

• Naum Faiq, A prominent Assyrian journalist and author translated the quatrains into Syriac. The translation existin its manuscript form and remains unpublished.

• In Ethiopian all of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam are under Amharic language on Ethiopian university. you couldread itinerary of Houshang Shamee to Africa.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 10

Authenticity and analysisThe number of quatrains attributed to Khayyam varies from about 1,200 (according to Saeed Nafisi) to over 2,000.Many scholars believe that not all the attributed quatrains are authentic and some have been added to Khayyam'sDiwan in later years for various reasons. A few literary researchers, for example, Mohammad-Ali Foroughi andFarzaneh Aghaeipour have selected and published a subset of the quatrains believed to be original using variousresearch methods.

Mystical interpretation"Wine of the Mystic" by Paramahansa Yogananda, is an illustrated interpretation of the FitzGerald translation. Eachquatrain is accompanied with Persian text, a glossary of terms, Yoganada's spiritual interpretation, and practicalinterpretation. It won the 1994 Benjamin Franklin Award in the field of Religion. Yogananda makes an argument forthe mystical basis of Khayyam's Rubaiyat.In Who is the Potter? ,[6] Abdullah Dougan, a Naqshbandi Sufi, provides a verse-by-verse commentary of theRubaiyat. Dougan says that while Omar is a minor Sufi teacher compared to the giants – Rumi, Attar and Sana’i, forus he is a marvelous man because we can feel for him and understand his approach. The work is much moreaccessible than Sana’i’s for instance; "Every line of the Rubaiyat has more meaning than almost anything you couldread in Sufi literature". Dougan says that the many critics of Fitzgerald miss the point as he is only an instrument forwhat Allah wanted to happen – there have been many more literally correct translations, but Fitzgerald’s is divineinspiration, something far superior, a miracle. In Dougan’s opinion, while many read the Rubaiyat literally and hencesee Omar as a materialist, he is in fact a spiritual teacher and is much maligned because people do not understandhim. Abdullah Dougan says the work is deeply esoteric and "if you approach the quatrains with that in mind, thepoem will have a tremendous impact on you as you try to understand it."Religious beliefs were deeply instilled in the people of the time, which gave much influence to the clergy, and theprosecution of poets who made statements contradictory to religious messages were prevalent, as was the case withHafiz (whose house was raided several times, and was forced to burn some of his more liberal poems) and Ferdowsi(who was branded a heretic and was not permitted to be buried in the Muslims graveyard).The mystic interpretation of themes in poetry which were contrary to Islamic teachings became popular after theSafavid dynasty rise to power and the establishing of Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of Iran. Atthis time poets such as Ferdowsi (who glorified the pre-Islamic Iran and patriotism), Hafiz (with his Epicurean viewon life) and Khayyam (with openly agnostic themed poetry) had already found their roots among Iranian culture andtheir works were looked upon as masterpieces of Persian literature. In order to justify their popularity and lay“credence” to their messages, many Haram themes were interpreted as having hidden mystical meanings andparallels were drawn between verses and Shi'a themes and traditions. Some religious hardliners however repudiatedKhayyam and the like altogether (and to a lesser extent still do today).Everything aside, Khayyam never identified himself as a Sufi nor did anyone in his time. On several occasions, infact, he mocks the devoutly religious who criticize the non-religious.

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Influence

LiteratureLike Shakespeare's works, Omar Khayyám's verses have provided later authors with quotations to use as titles:• The title of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novel Some Buried Caesar comes from one of the Tentmaker's quatrains

(FitzGerald's XVIII), for example.• Eugene O'Neill's drama Ah, Wilderness! derives its title from the first quoted quatrain above.• Agatha Christie used The Moving Finger as a story title, as did Stephen King. See also And Having Writ….• Lan Wright used Dawn's Left Hand as the title of a science fiction story serialized in New Worlds Science Fiction

(January–March 1963).• The title of Allen Drury's science fiction novel The Throne of Saturn comes from a quatrain which appears as the

book's epigraph.Equally noteworthy are these works likewise influenced:• The satirist and short story writer Hector Hugh Munro took his pen name of 'Saki' from Edward FitzGerald's

translation of the Rubaiyat.• The American author O. Henry humorously referred to a book by "Homer KM" with the character "Ruby Ott" in

his short story "The Handbook of Hymen. " O. Henry also quoted a quatrain from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyamin "The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball."

• Oliver Herford released a parody of the Rubaiyat called "The Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten" in 1904, which isnotable for its charming illustrations of the kitten in question on his philosophical adventures.

• The American horror author H P Lovecraft created an Arab poet Abdul Alhazred to whom was attributed acouplet:

That is not dead which can eternal lieAnd with strange aeons even death may die.

Lovecraft was obsessed with the Arabian Nights and had no doubt read the Fitzgerald translation - the coupletfollows Fitzgerald's metre and rhyme pattern for the first half of a Khayyam quatrain.

• The artist/illustrator Edmund Dulac produced some much-beloved illustrations for the Rubaiyat, 1909.• The play The Shadow of a Gunman (1923) by Sean O'Casey contains a reference to the Rubaiyat as the character

Donal Davoren quotes "grasp this sorry scheme of things entire, and mould life nearer to the heart's desire."• The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges discusses The Rubaiyat and its history in an essay, "The Enigma of

Edward FitzGerald" ("El enigma de Edward FitzGerald") in his book "Other Inquisitions" ("Otras Inquisiciones",1952). He also references it in some of his poems, including "Rubaiyat" in "The Praise of the Shadow" ("Elogiode la Sombra", 1969), and "Chess" ("Ajedrez") in "The Maker" ("El Hacedor", 1960). Borges' father JorgeGuillermo Borges was the author of a Spanish translation of the FitzGerald version of The Rubaiyat.

• Science fiction author Paul Marlowe's story "Resurrection and Life" featured a character who could onlycommunicate using lines from the Rubaiyat.

• Wendy Cope's poem "Strugnell's Rubiyat" is a close parody of the FitzGerald translation, relocated to modern dayTulse Hill.

• One of the title pages of Principia Discordia (1965), a co-author of which went by the pen-name Omar KhayyamRavenhurst, features its own spin on the quatrain most quoted above:

A jug of wine,A leg of lamb

And thou!Beside me,

Whistling in

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 12

the darkness.• The Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf based his novel Samarkand (1988) on the life of Omar Khayyam, and the

creation of the Rubaiyat. It details the Assassin sect as well, and includes a fictional telling of how the(non-existent) original manuscript came to be on the RMS Titanic.

• In the opening chapter of his book God is Not Great (2007), Christopher Hitchens quotes from Richard LeGallienne's translation of Khayyam's famous quatrain:

And do you think that unto such as youA maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crewGod gave the secret, and denied it me?Well, well--what matters it? Believe that, too!

• S.P. Ward's Rubaicon (2013) is a poetic parody of the life of Omar Khayyam and uses the rubai form in parts ofits rhyming scheme.

• The title of Daphne du Maurier's memoir Myself when Young is a quote from quatrain 27 of Fitzgerald'stranslation:

Myself when young did eagerly frequentDoctor and Saint, and heard great ArgumentAbout it and about: but evermoreCame out by the same Door as in I went.

Cinema• Filmmaker D.W. Griffith planned a film based on the poems as a follow-up to Intolerance in 1916. It was to star

Miriam Cooper, but when she left the Griffith company the plans were dropped; he would ultimately film BrokenBlossoms instead.

• A canto was quoted and used as an underlying theme of the 1945 screen adaptation of The Picture of DorianGray: "I sent my soul through the invisible, some letters of that after-life to spell, and by and by my soul didreturn, and answered, 'I myself am Heaven and Hell.'"

• The Rubaiyat was quoted in the 1946 King Vidor Western film Duel in the Sun, which starred Gregory Peck andJennifer Jones: "Oh threats of hell and hopes of paradise! One thing at least is certain: This life flies. One thing iscertain and the rest is Lies; The Flower that once is blown for ever dies."

• The 1951 film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring James Mason and Ava Gardner, opens with anilluminated manuscript of the quatrain beginning "The moving finger writes...".

• In the film The Music Man (based on the 1957 musical), town librarian Marian Paroo draws down the wrath of themayor's wife for encouraging the woman's daughter to read a book of "dirty Persian poetry." Summarizing whatshe calls the "Ruby Hat," the mayor's wife paraphrases FitzGerald's Quatrain XII from his 5th edition: "Peoplelying out in the woods eating sandwiches, and drinking directly out of jugs with innocent young girls."

• The film Omar Khayyam, also known as The Loves Of Omar Khayyam, was released in 1957 by ParamountPictures and includes excerpts from the Rubaiyat.

• The Rubaiyat was quoted in the film 12 Monkeys (1995) around 11 minutes in.• In Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful a copy of the text in French is quoted in English: "Drink wine, this is life eternal

//This, all that youth will give to you//It is the season for wine, roses//And drunken friends//Be happy for thismoment//This moment is your life." The book is a gift given flirtatiously to Diane Lane's character by OlivierMartinez who plays rare book dealer Paul Martel in the film.

• The Rubaiyat was quoted in the film The English Harem (2005):"Ah, Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire// To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire!// Would not weshatter it to bits-and then// Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!"

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 13

Music• The British composer Granville Bantock produced a choral setting of FitzGerald's translation 1906-1909.• Using FitzGerald's translation, the Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness set a dozen of the quatrains to

music. This work, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Op. 308, calls for narrator, orchestra, and solo accordion.• The Rubaiyat have also influenced Arabic music. In 1950 the Egyptian singer Oum Koulthoum recorded a song

entitled "Rubaiyat Al-Khayyam."• Woody Guthrie recorded an excerpt of the Rubaiyat set to music that was released on Hard Travelin' (The Asch

Recordings Vol. 3).• The Human Instinct's album Pins In It (1971) opens with a track called "Pinzinet," the lyrics of which are based

on the Rubaiyat.• Elektra Records released a compilation album named Rubáiyát in 1990 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of

the Elektra Records record label.• Coldcut produced an album with a song called "Rubaiyat" on their album Let us Play! (1997). This song contains

what appears to be some words from the English translation. This was probably influenced by the ambitious 1970album by jazz-soul harpist Dorothy Ashby, "The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby," which has become something of acult classic. The lyrics quote from several of the poem's verses, and the tracks' highly stylized and heavilyreverberated production values and pop mysticism have made it a favorite of samplers, beat-diggers, and fans ofpsychedelic jazz and R&B.

• The famed "skull and roses" poster for a Grateful Dead show at the Avalon Ballroom done by Alton Kelley andStanley Mouse was adapted from Edmund J. Sullivan's illustrations for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.[7]

• The work influenced the 2004 concept album The Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam by the Italian group Milagroacustico (it).

• The song "Beautiful Feeling" by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, on 2004 album Ways and Means,includes the lyrics "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thee, lying on a blanket underneath that big old spreadingtree." This song was used as the theme song in the 2004 Australian television drama, Fireflies.

Television• In one 6-episode story arc of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Bullwinkle finds the "Ruby Yacht of Omar

Khayyam" in the town of Frostbite Falls (on the shores of Veronica Lake, no less).• A copy of the Rubaiyat plays a role in an episode of the TV series New Amsterdam and is shown to be the

inspiration for the name of one of the lead character's children, Omar York.• In the Australian 2014 television drama, Anzac Girls, Lieutenant Harry Moffitt reads from the Rubaiyat to his

sweetheart, nurse Sister Alice Ross-King.

Other media• In Cyberflix's PC game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, the object is to save three important items, the Rubaiyat

of Omar Khayyam, one of Adolf Hitler's paintings, and a notebook that proves German officials were attemptingto gain geo-political advantage by instigating communist revolution. Two passages from the book are alsoincluded in the game as clues to progress the narrative.

• Some versions of the computer game Colossal Cave Adventure feature a ruby-covered yacht called "OmarKhayyam" (a pun - the "ruby yacht" of Omar Khayyam).

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 14

Other• In Australia, a copy of FitzGerald's translation and its closing words, Tamam Shud ("Ended"), were a major

component of the unsolved Taman Shud Case.• The Supreme Court of the Philippines, through a unanimous opinion penned in 2005 by Associate Justice

Leonardo Quisumbing, quoted The Moving Finger when it ruled that the widow of defeated presidential candidateFernando Poe Jr. could not substitute her late husband in his pending election protest against Philippine presidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo, thus leading to the dismissal of the protest.

• There was a real jewel-encrusted copy of the book on the Titanic. It was won at an auction and was being shippedto New York. The book remains lost at the bottom of the Atlantic to this day.

Anniversary events2009 marked the 150th anniversary of Fitzgerald's translation, and the 200th anniversary of Fitzgerald's birth. Eventsmarking these anniversaries included:• The Smithsonian's traveling exhibition Elihu Vedder's Drawings for the Rubaiyat at the Phoenix Art Museum,

November 15, 2008–February 8, 2009• The exhibition Edward Fitzgerald & The Rubaiyat from the collection of Nicholas B. Scheetz at the Grolier Club,

January 22–March 13, 2009.• The exhibition Omar Khayyám. Een boek in de woestijn. 150 jaar in Engelse vertaling at the Museum

Meermanno, The Hague, January 31–April 5, 2009• The exhibition The Persian Sensation: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in the West at the Harry Ransom

Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin, February 3–August 2, 2009•• An exhibition at the Cleveland Public Library Special Collections, opening February 15, 2009• The joint conference, Omar Khayyam, Edward FitzGerald and The Rubaiyat, held at Cambridge University and

Leiden University, July 6–10, 2009• The Folio Society published a limited edition (1,000 copies) of the Rubáiyát to mark the 150th anniversary.

References[1] Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Justin Huntly McCarthy MP. [London] : D. Nutt, 1889. (Source: Trinity College

Dublin Library (http:/ / library. catalogue. tcd. ie/ record=b13332609~S9))[2] Aminrazavi, Mehdi: The Wine of Wisdom. Oneworld 2005, ISBN 1-85168-355-0, p. 155[3] Emami, Karim. Ups and Downs of Translation, Tehran, 1988, pp. 134-169[4] Rubaije Omera Hajjama (http:/ / www. mullasadra. com/ knjige/ RUBAIJE. html)[5] Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat. Translated by . Iwanami Shoten, 1949 (revised ed. in 1979), pp. 167-173. ISBN 978-4003278314.[6] Abdullah Dougan Who is the Potter? (http:/ / www. gnosticpress. co. nz/ ?page_id=149) Gnostic Press 1991 ISBN 0-473-01064-X[7] Selvin, Joel. " Alton Kelley, psychedelic poster creator, dies (http:/ / www. sfgate. com/ cgi-bin/ article. cgi?f=/ c/ a/ 2008/ 06/ 03/

BAQS111UJ4. DTL)". San Francisco Chronicle. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-25.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

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Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

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Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Le Gallienne)

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 15

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Omar Khayyam.

• Listen to The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (http:/ / librivox. org/the-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam-by-omar-khayyam-2/ ) translated by Edward Fitzgerald - Free Audiobook atLibriVox

• Listen to The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (http:/ / archive. org/ details/ rubaiyat_legallienne_1301_librivox)translated by Richard LeGalliene - Free Audiobook at The Internet Archive

• The illustrated Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/TheRubaiyatOfOmarKhayyam-FirstVersion-Illustrated), translated by Edward Fitzgerald, at Internet Archive.

• The Persian Poet (http:/ / www. omar-khayyam. org), contains the translations by Edward FitzGerald and abiography.

• Graves and Ali-Shah. (http:/ / tls. timesonline. co. uk/ article/ 0,,25336-1947980,00. html)• Project Gutenberg: etext#246 (http:/ / www. gutenberg. org/ etext/ 246) (translation by Edward FitzGerald) and

etext#5408 (http:/ / www. gutenberg. org/ etext/ 5408) (a parody by Wallace Irvin)• Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (http:/ / www. okonlife. com/ poems/ ) a collection of rubaiyat in Persian,

accompanied by several translations into English and German.• The entire book (http:/ / sharewareebooks. com/ eBooks/ Literature/

Edward_FitzGerald,_"Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam") in DNL E-Book format.• Fitzgerald's translation (http:/ / www. androlib. com/ android. application. com-staircase3-rubaiyat-AmED. aspx)

as an app for Android mobile phones.• The complete four edition translations (http:/ / www. kellscraft. com/ rubaiyatcontent. html) by Edward

FitzGerald, with illustrations by Blanche McManus at Kellscraft.com.• A comparison between (http:/ / members. iinet. net. au/ ~ploke/ Omar/ compare. html) the translations by

Heron-Allen and Talbot.• Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center (http:/ / library. syr. edu/ information/ spcollections/ )

has in its Rare Books holdings more than 300 different editions of the Rubaiyat• The Harry Ransom Center (http:/ / www. hrc. utexas. edu/ collections/ books/ holdings/ khayyam/ ) at the

University of Texas at Austin holds over 1,500 items related to the Rubaiyat, including two copies of the firstedition, hundreds of editions, translations, and parodies, several Persian manuscripts containing rubaiyat, andephemera, manuscripts and correspondence documenting the phenomenon of "Omariana"

• Who is the Potter? (http:/ / www. gnosticpress. co. nz/ ?page_id=149) - a commentary on the Rubaiyat of OmarKhayyam by Abdullah Dougan - a modern Sufi's understanding.

• at Baidu Baike (http:/ / baike. baidu. com/ view/ 949677. htm) can find a list of 48 Chinese translations.• Welcome to the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (http:/ / theland. antgear. com/ Rubaiyat/ index. html) A growing

collection of famous and obscure translations of the Rubaiyat.• Toussaint's Translation (French) (http:/ / wikilivres. ca/ wiki/ Robaiyat)

Article Sources and Contributors 16

Article Sources and ContributorsRubaiyat of Omar Khayyam  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=625678402  Contributors: A Flor do Sul, A.o.oncemore, Abecedare, Adpete, Aherunar, Ahoerstemeier,Alborzagros, Alirezayazdani21, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, Alwynjones, Andranikpasha, Andrinaaldape, Angel caboodle, Antandrus, Anyo Niminus, Apyule, B9 hummingbird hovering,BACbKA, BD2412, Bdesham, Bdiscoe, Bees151, Binksternet, BjKa, Blanchette, Bmcln1, Brian0918, Brighterorange, BrownHairedGirl, Bryan Derksen, Böri, CFCF, Camyoung54,Captainkabob, Cassibelan, CheMechanical, Cheesycow5, Chinasaur, Chinawhitecotton, Chris the speller, Christofurio, Churchh, Cloj, CoachJET, Cocytus, Colapeninsula, Conversion script,Cuchullain, Cunningpal, Daibhid C, Dalgial, Dandrake, Discospinster, DrKiernan, Dthomsen8, DuncanHill, Engranaje, EricValley, Essa thea, Eupator, Faithlessthewonderboy, Faizhaider,Falcorian, Famous Diver, Finnrind, Franois-do, Fredrik, Fullmetalja, Gaius Cornelius, Geoduck, Getramkumar, Gildir, Girlwithgreeneyes, Gnangbade, Goldfritha, Graham87, Grenavitar, Gwern,HeartofaDog, HenryMcGilton, Heron, Histrion, Hornlo, IceKarma, Imz, Indy4ever, Inscipe, Isis, Ithinkicahn, J04n, JChernow, JackWasey, JackofOz, Jacomo, Jagged 85, Jahangard, Jayen466,JeanKorte, Jeronimo, Jerzy, JesseW, Jmnbatista, JustAGal, Kate, Kkutty, Kuak, Kwamikagami, Lambiam, Lars Washington, Leighpatterson, Leofstan, Life of Riley, LilHelpa, Lombroso, Lotje,LukasMatt, Lukeaw, Macevoy, Maggiedane, Magioladitis, MakeRocketGoNow, Man vyi, Mani1, Marmenta, Marudubshinki, Materialscientist, Mhockey, Mick gold, Mjm24970, Moe Epsilon,Mogism, Moleskiner, Msanjelpie, Mukadderat, Muzilon, Nadine.J.Wiseman, Nehrams2020, Neuroghost, Nihil novi, Nimazdak, Nishkid64, NoPetrol, Nohomers48, Notwist, O.Koslowski,Ohconfucius, Omnipaedista, OzYy44, PKM, Pagaeos, Paleolith, Paradanta, Pcpcpc, Per Olofsson, Pfold, Possum, Pouyakhani, Proud Muslim, QuartierLatin1968, R'n'B, Rayis, Rich Farmbrough,Rihanna900, Rjwilmsi, Rmg08057, Rotational, Rothorpe, Rrburke, RubaiyatofOM, Rubiy, Samael775, Sasanjan, Scythian77, Selfless Mind, Senu, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Sgfoote, Sharksfin,Shiggity, Siddiqui, Simon D M, Skullketon, Slowlikemolasses, Smetanahue, Smsarmad, Smyth, Soumya ritu, Spasage, Star reborn, Storeye, Takabeg, Tarquin, The Baroness of Morden,TheOldJacobite, Themfromspace, Throbert McGee, Tickle me, Timelesstune, Titian1962, Tobias Conradi, Tobogganoggin, UDScott, Unarayanadas, Unitanode, VaneWimsey, Varlaam,Vikashgd, Vitriden, Wetman, Wikidas, Woohookitty, Wpinkgi, Wrinklestiltskin, Xayyam, Xensyria, YUL89YYZ, Čočkin, Žiga, కిరణ్మయి, 240 anonymous edits

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