Difference between revisions of "The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam"
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| − | '''The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam''' is the collection of | + | '''The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam''' is the collection of [[quatrain]]s—four-line stanzas—written by the [[Persia]]n astronomer [[Omar Khayyam]] (1048 – 1123). They are largely known to the English-speaking world in the translations written by Edward Fitzgerald, first published, anonymously, in 1859. |
They are perhaps some of the most quoted poetry in the English language: of approximately a hundred stanzas, about forty of them are included ''in full'' in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. | They are perhaps some of the most quoted poetry in the English language: of approximately a hundred stanzas, about forty of them are included ''in full'' in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. | ||
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FitzGerald's translation is not literal. FitzGerald believed he was being true to the spirit of the original. | FitzGerald's translation is not literal. FitzGerald believed he was being true to the spirit of the original. | ||
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| + | [[category:Book]] | ||
Revision as of 12:20, April 4, 2007
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam is the collection of quatrains—four-line stanzas—written by the Persian astronomer Omar Khayyam (1048 – 1123). They are largely known to the English-speaking world in the translations written by Edward Fitzgerald, first published, anonymously, in 1859.
They are perhaps some of the most quoted poetry in the English language: of approximately a hundred stanzas, about forty of them are included in full in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
Undoubtedly the best-known stanza is:
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!
FitzGerald's translation is not literal. FitzGerald believed he was being true to the spirit of the original.
