Consider Marlowe’s Edward II as a Tragedy.as Hafiz is supposed to do: in short, a Sufi poet like Hafiz and the rest… And there, is some traditional presumption, and certainly the opinion of some learned men, in favour of Omar’s being a Sufi- even something of a saint- those who please may so interpret his wine and cup-bearer.” Fitzgerald himself makes a note of this in his introduction to the second edition: “M Nicholas,… has reminded me of several things, and instructed me in others, does not consider Omar to be the material epicurean that I have literally taken him for, but a mystic, shadowing the Deity under the figure of wine, wine-bearer etc. The mystical interpretation is supported by J B Nicholas whose French translation appeared (1867) close on the heels of Fitzgerald’s English version. (So much of Persian poetry and the poetry of the East in general have this feature) – the literal and the hidden /implied. We then have to accept the argument that a mystical poem has two levels of meaning. For the hedonist, eternity is an embarrassment. No poet of “wine, women’ and song” could share Omar’s fascination with death. His cheerful reminder of life’s brevity, however, would have lost its gay lilt had this become the underlying theme of his poetry. What pleasure-seeker would dwell at such depressing length on the impermanence of his coveted pleasures? A poet of hedonism might, like Robert Herrick, urge his readers to enjoy this world while they can. He says:” Omar Khayyam’s insistence on the theme of life’s brevity- one he sounds repeatedly throughout these quatrains- is itself the strongest possible argument against the claim of Westerners that he was a hedonist. Every page of poetry in this collector’s edition features unique art nouveau borders in gold, with each illustration framed in a gold border.Yogananda’s argument is also based on the so-called ‘Carpe diem’ theme which frequently comes up with references to the brevity of life. This collector’s edition of The Rubáiyát features stunning full-color illustrations created by René Bull in 1913 that interpret the poem’s brilliant sensual imagery and provide the perfect complement to Fitzgerald’s translation, which remains the most famous. More recently, it has also been the subject of many music adaptations and films.

Since then, its melancholy tone and enigmatic philosophy of mourning the painful brevity of life while celebrating what pleasures we may find have made it an inspiration to many writers, including Matthew Arnold and Thomas Hardy.

A collection of quatrains composed in the eleventh century by Persian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyám, it was first published in English-language translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. The Rubáiyát is one of the most popular poems of all time.

Fitzgerald the rubaiyat of omar khayyam