THE RUBAIYAT
Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam
(1048-1131)
Omar Khayyam was a Persian mathematician,
philosopher, poet, and astronomer. He belonged to the schools of Islamic
mathematics, Persian poetry, and Persian philosophy. He was born in Nishapur, Northeast
Persia. He lived during the great Seljuk Empire. He wrote poetry mainly in 4
lined stanzas or quatrains.
The Title "Rubaiyat"
'Rubai' is the Farsi word for a poem composed in 4 lines [a quatrain]. So Rubaiyat is the plural of rubai. And Rubaiyat means a compilation of quatrains. Khayyam's poetry was introduced to the English reading world by the English writer and translator, Edward Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald in his 1859 translation [7 centuries later], gave it the title, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
Rubaiyat and its
theme
It is arguably the most famous Persian literary work in the
world. The brevity of human life forms the major theme; life is too short. So,
this blissful visit is too short and when our time comes, we too shall wither
away like a fully bloomed flower or vanish into some unknown corner of this
world like a gentle breeze.
The poet tells us that there is no use in worrying about the
unborn tomorrow and dead yesterday when today is so sweet. What we need to
think about is only the present moment which is too short. So, enjoy the present
because death is for sure. It is the ultimate leveller, a sort of inevitability
from where the return is not possible. So, enjoy the present before we too
settle into dust.
Edward Fitzgerald called Khayyam's philosophy an Epicurean philosophy in the preface of his work. Later thinkers like Nietzsche, Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Satre too reflected the same ideas in their Existential philosophy. The poem has been narrated in the first-person point of view. The narrator of the poem is an unknown person.
Summary of Rubaiyat 68 to 73 Quatrains.
The
Rubaiyat
68
That ev'n my buried Ashes
such a Snare
Of Perfume shall fling up
into the Air,
As not a True Believer
passing by
But shall be overtaken
unaware.
The
poet says that when he dies, he wants to be wrapped in grape leaves and buried
in a sweet vineyard. Thus buried, his body will throw up such a sweet scent
into the air. It will convert even the most devout passerby to a believer in
the faith of the Grape.
The
speaker is a worshipper of wine, he wants to drink vine till the end of his
life. When buried after his death, the remains of his body would throw up a
sweet aroma into the air. When passersby pass by his grave, they would turn
into a worshipper of the vine, even if he is a true devotee of God.
69
Indeed the Idols I
have loved so long
Have done my Credit in
Men's Eye much wrong;
Have drown 'd my Honour
in a shallow Cup,
And sold my Reputation for a Song.
Surely,
the idols [which are earthly things] he had loved long caused his credibility to
go wrong in the eyes of the public. Merry-making and drinking have made him
lose his honour and reputation in the eyes of men.
The
third line of this quatrain means that he has lost his honour through drinking
wine. ‘Shallow cup’ means a small amount of vine. ‘Sold my reputation for a
song’ means he has lost his reputation through his merry-making.
70
Indeed, indeed,
Repentance oft before
I swore - but was I sober
when I swore?
And then and then came
spring, and Rose-in-hand
My thread-bare Penitence
apiece tore.
Surely,
he had sworn to repent many times, but he was not serious even once while
making that promise. Then the spring season came. His weak penitence was torn
into pieces by the present pleasures.
He
intended to mend his ways often enough, but never quite made it! The Spring and
the Rose are here symbols of the attraction back to his old ways.
71
And much as wine has
play'd the Infidel,
And robb'd me of my Robe of
Honour - well,
I often wonder what the
Vintners buy
One half so precious as
the Goods they sell.
Besides,
he would gladly lose his honour in exchange for wine. In his eyes wine is so
precious, its sellers make a loss even when they sell it for a great profit because
they end up parting from wine.
Wine
is a forbidden drink in the Islamic world, which is tasted only by infidels.
That infidel wine made him an ‘infidel’ to the outer forms of religion and
social order.
72
Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose
That Youth's
sweet-scented Manuscript should close!
The Nightingale that in
the Branches sang,
Ah, whence, and whither
flown again, who knows!
The
spring should go away with the roses. The sweet-scented manuscript of youth
should close. The nightingale that has been singing in the branch of our life,
has just flown away. Who knows where has it gone?
As the night
(and the poem’s end) approaches, the speaker’s tone turns contemplative. He
returns to the metaphors of the nightingale, rose, and spring to lament the end
of the day or season, as well as youth.
The spring and rose refer to the fading youth. The nightingale is a bird of youth, once it leaves our branches, flies off to who-knows-where.
Analysis
of Rubaiyath
The
Rubaiyat has the setting and mood of a philosophical poem. The quatrains 68 to
73 reflect the poet's reflections on the mystery of creation, the brevity of
life, the futility of worrying and the difficulty in understanding the purpose
of life. The poet advocates the wisdom of enjoying life while it lasts. The
narrator's voice becomes the principal unifying element in the poem.
The
poet speaks of the cup of existence being filled with the "Wine of
Life". One better drinks it before the wine drains away slowly. The rose
symbolizes that people will be gone forever. Spring refers to the regeneration
of life, but the poet strongly believes in living in the present, as life once
lost can never be reclaimed. Adhering to Epicureanism, he says, life is short,
and everyone becomes dust and never returns. One is advised to live in the
present and not to worry about the past or future.
The
setting reminds the poet of the cyclic nature of life. Spring renews the earth,
but it vanishes as fast as a rose. The poet refers to the quick passage of
youth. The poet's scepticism is brought to light as he recalls how little he
learned from the 'men of wisdom'. All he learnt is that one has no control over
one's existence. One is a puppet in the hands of a whimsical creator. Human
intelligence cannot help in transcending death. It is futile to worry about the
purpose of life or hope for the afterlife.
The
poet advocates wine as the antidote for reason's inability to see into the darkness.
The wine offers a hedonistic [based on a belief that pleasure is the most
important thing in life] escape from the meaninglessness of life. Wine does not
offer an escape from life but an escape into it. Though he agrees that wine has
often compromised his reputation, it is the wine that also gives him the courage
to accept life.
The
reference to spring and winter refers to a journey through the mind of a
philosophical poet pondering the mystery of human existence.
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