Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Generic (1947)
Description
Fiction. Poetry. HTML: Edward FitzGerald gave the title The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam to his translation of poetry attributed to the Persian poet, astronomer and mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1123). The word "Rubaiyat" means quatrains - verses of four lines. These works by Fitzgerald are the best known English translations. This edition contains both the first and fifth editions of the Rubaiyat. This influential translation is seen by many as a zenith of English literature in the nineteenth century. Fitzgerald states that his translation "will interest you from its form, and also in many respects in its detail: very unliteral as it is. Many quatrains are mashed together: and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him." And, "I suppose very 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 the Original's better. Better a live Sparrow than a stuffed Eagle.".… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member mandochild
The particular edition I read comes with an amazing wealth of detail, including a long introduction, a facsimile of the original manuscript and detailed information on the translation from the Persian (Farsi). Unfortunately I only managed to read a few pages of the introduction and didn't have time
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to read the quattrains with the attention they deserved. As a result, I have only my own uneducated impressions to go by. I was fascinated by the tension and ambiguity between divinity and earthly pleasures (wine). My sense was that this tension is deliberate. A colleague summed it up beautifully as the impossible tension between the desire to live divinely, but the knowledge that it is physically impossible to do other than live in the real world, which involves acquiring money and possessions, and earthly pleasures. This is an impossible tension to reconcile and yet it exists. What did seem clear was the view that it is better to worship God sincerely in a tavern than to feign worship in a mosque. Absolutely fascinating reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salmondaze
A deserved classic, Fitzgerald's translation of the poetry of Omar Kayyam, here presented in his first two editions, is simply transcendent. In fact I compared the two editions and even though they communicated the same pearl their "shells" were completely different. Fitzgerald said he took
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liberties with the original verse, and if he did I actually applaud him because what's contained in this volume is nevertheless a living thing in the English language. Rarely have I seen verse this wise, this celebratory, this probing through our materialistic world. If that's what Omar Kayyam had intended to communicate through his verse then Fitzgerald is actually truer to Kayyam than if he had stuck closely to what was literal and there. Show Less
LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
This edition (ISBN13: 9780004105512) contains the full texts of FitzGerald's first, second and fifth editions, together with details of the textual variations of the third and fourth editions. Additionally, there are brief biographies of FitzGerald and Khayyám, a Comparative Table of Quatrains
The illustrations by Robert Stewart Sherriffs are done in a flat, 'children's book'1970's style, but they are colourful and represent scenes from the Quatrains not often depicted in the other illustrated editions I know. I like them!
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(which is really useful for looking at how FitzGerald rogue certain lines), FitzGerald's Notes to the Second Edition (in a more complete form than in other editions I've seen), a brief but useful Glossary, and, finally an Index of First Lines. All of which makes it a most interesting and practical addition to my library. The illustrations by Robert Stewart Sherriffs are done in a flat, 'children's book'1970's style, but they are colourful and represent scenes from the Quatrains not often depicted in the other illustrated editions I know. I like them!
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LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
"Irâm indeed is gone with all its Rose,
And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows:
But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields,
And still a Garden by the Water blows.
- Verse V
The introduction and notes in this edition [9780713604184] are illuminating, and got me doing something I realise I
Depleting my store of cultural ignorance is a never-ending, but enriching, task.
And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows:
But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields,
And still a Garden by the Water blows.
- Verse V
The introduction and notes in this edition [9780713604184] are illuminating, and got me doing something I realise I
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haven't done before: searching the internet for Rubaiyát references. The most interesting thing I learned was that Khayyám's mention of "Irâm" being "gone with all its Rose" is a reference to a lost city, called by T.E. Lawrence the Atlantis of the Sands, and which the Koran mentions as, perhaps, being destroyed for its sins. There have been expeditions to locate Irâm, "The City of the Pillars", and, like Atlantis in the West, many disputed claims for its discovery.Depleting my store of cultural ignorance is a never-ending, but enriching, task.
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LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
Having read several other editions of the Rubáiyát, this is the first time I've read one with FitzGerald's foreword and his notes, which added much to the experience this time around.
I was not previously aware of the debate regarding the possibility of reading Khayyám's frequent references to
However that may be, this remains my favourite book of poetry (admittedly out of a relatively limited exposure to verse).
I was not previously aware of the debate regarding the possibility of reading Khayyám's frequent references to
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wine as literal (how I'd previously read it) or as a metaphor for divinity. Interestingly, having introduced me to the debate, FitzGerald comes down firmly on the literalist side. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed reading this one with the metaphor in mind and it will inform future readings. I understand FitzGerald's position, though, as not all of the stanzas lend themselves to a mystical rendition, however that could be due either to his translation or my own lack of spiritual knowledge.However that may be, this remains my favourite book of poetry (admittedly out of a relatively limited exposure to verse).
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LibraryThing member Sakurako
Images like voluptuous winds fill with colour and sensuality while enreptures Victorian rigid society to Orient mysteries
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
The poetry is beautiful, the rhyme scheme is melodic, and the illustrations definitely enhance the words. I came away with an appreciation of the beauty of the words, the pictures, and life in general. It can be read in about an hour. It can be studied and analysed for a lifetime.
LibraryThing member lisemenn
Fine illustrations tipped in; probably valuable
LibraryThing member ewalrath
This was given to me by an ex-boyfriend I try not to think about much. I should probably get rid of it, but it's so beautiful.
LibraryThing member funfunyay
This is probably the best poetry ever written anywhere ever.
Apparently the oxford book of quotations quotes it more than Shakespeare or the Bible. I know why!
From the man who brought you Algaebra.
Apparently the oxford book of quotations quotes it more than Shakespeare or the Bible. I know why!
From the man who brought you Algaebra.
LibraryThing member KayCliff
Collins' delightful little edition, 6" x 4", red-leather-bound, includes an introduction by Laurence Housman, illustrations by Marjorie Anderson, and versions of both the 1959 and the 1868 versions of the poem.
LibraryThing member hellbent
I enjoyed the Rubaiyat so much that I memorized it as a young man, while walking home from work. I was only able to recall the entire book 4 times, but I can still recall certain quatrains.
LibraryThing member antiquary
An interesting linguistic curiosity
LibraryThing member Helenliz
I was expecting more from this than it seemed to deliver. it's a series of 4 lines verses that sound good, but, mostly, seemed to be concerned with drinking! There's a lot of taverns and pots and vines going on in here. I'm not sure this was the great work of mystical literature I was expecting.
LibraryThing member overthemoon
with 50 plates in colour by Iran's Celebrated Artist Hossein Behzad Miniatur (lavishly illustrated in Persian miniature style) and with Persian version at end. Slipcase. Handwritten dedication on flyleaf.
LibraryThing member shoreline
Timeless & Deep Poetry, with a good dose of obtuse, philosophical humor. Highly Recommended.
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LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Lovely poetry -- I didn't realize some of the more familiar lines came from this -- "The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on."
LibraryThing member twileteyes
Verses from this are the first I ever memorized and had to recite (that I can remember anyway). It was in 8th grade, and when I reread the book at leisure as an adult, I was amazed at how different my perception of the themes is now that I am 10 years older.
LibraryThing member dasam
I originally read this in high school and have not ventured back since then. It is in many ways a long plea for carpe diem and a kind of "To His Coy Mistress" seduction song, with the mistress being both a woman and wine. I was reminded of the number of common expressions which came from this poem.
"The Stars are setting and the Caravan/Starts for the Dawn of Nothing..."
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One I did not recall, but admire is:"The Stars are setting and the Caravan/Starts for the Dawn of Nothing..."
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LibraryThing member bluereader
Lovely illustrations by Dulac.
LibraryThing member REINADECOPIAYPEGA
I haven't a clue what I just read, was way over my head. To my poor addled brain it was just line after line of sentences that made no sense to one whose Menopause Fairy has long ago eaten her brain.
LibraryThing member nadineeg
Beautifully illustrated in an art deco style in both coloured and b&w line drawings.
LibraryThing member Bart_Leahy
This is an odd one. It reminds me of the Book of Ecclesiastes if Solomon had gotten too deep into his cups while writing it. A quick read, though!
LibraryThing member CatherineMilos
I feel like this translation was significantly coloured by Colonial perspectives of translator Edward FitzGerald and lacks the truth of the poetry I expected.
LibraryThing member octoberdad
Would that I had read this sooner, and frequently.