The Rubaiyat

By Omar Khayyam

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is one of the best known examples of Persian poetry. Although commercially unsuccessful at first, FitzGerald's work was popularised from 1861 onward by Whitley Stokes, and the work came to be greatly admired by the Pre-Raphaelites in England.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Nov 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781787363342

Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet. He was born in Nishapur, in northeastern Iran, and spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade. (Wikipedia)

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Omar Khayyam

The Rubaiyat

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New Edition

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New Edition

Published by The Big Nest

This Edition

First published in 2021

Copyright © 2021 The Big Nest

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9781787363342

Contents

THE RUBAIYAT

THE RUBAIYAT

I.

AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:

And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught

The Sultan’s Turret in a Noose of Light.

II.

Dreaming when Dawn’s Left Hand was in the Sky

I heard a voice within the Tavern cry,

"Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup

Before Life’s Liquor in its Cup be dry."

III.

And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before

The Tavern shouted -- "Open then

Reviews for The Rubaiyat

[edwin6gleaves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not the Edward Fitzgerald translation of "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam of Naishapur" but an Iranian production in Persian, English, French, German, and Arabic, with introductory material in the Western languages, including a "Pubishers' Foreward" [sic] in English. The illustrations are tantalizingly lovely and well preserved. A section on "Omar Khayam: The Sage" appears in Persian at the end of the book.

[rmmee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The trouble is that we are all reviewing different versions. Mine is the 75 stanza first edition of Fitzgerald's verse translation, reproduced by the Folio Society in 1955. It is a lovely little book (so little that it only took me 30 minutes to read it). And it has nice 10th century Persian illustrations. But as for the actual poetry, I can't find any major praises to sing about it. It is certainly worth glancing through, but unless you are an afficianado, this is not something I would strongly recommend.

[zasmine_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent Luminous Poetry.

[sashame-485567 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

lots of this is super super beautiful, but the lack of class consciousness and un-critical obsession w alcohol both started to get to me :/

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Having loved Edward FitzGerald's free translation of these verses for many years, I wanted to read a more literal translation, which I got with this edition.

Initially, I wasn't taken: the verses were stark and plain for the most part, and there was no real connection between one quatrain and the next. But I persevered and as the memory of FitzGerald receded somewhat, I was able to enjoy the poems on their own terms. The humour and beauty of the "originals" (as close as a non-Persian speaker can get to the originals, anyway) shone through and won me over.

It was fun, too, to recognise some old friends in new clothes.

The translators' fascinating introduction and appendices were worth the price of the book by themselves, enhancing enjoyment of the verses by giving some context.

I guess I still prefer FitzGerald's translation because it's the one I've grown up with, but I will definitely revisit this edition, too.