LitWords

Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam

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

That ev'n my buried Ashes ......... 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.

Indeed the Idols I have loved ......... 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.

Indeed, indeed, Repentance .......... 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.

And much as wine has play'd ........ 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.

Alas, that Spring should vanish .......... 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.

Let Go of Your Worries by Jalaludhin Rumi

LET GO OF YOUR WORRIES

Jalal al-Din Rumi

About the Poet

Jalal al-Din Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. He is widely known by the title Mawlånå which means "our master". Rumi's popularity spread beyond geographical boundaries and centuries. Rumi's writings have been translated into several languages. Most of his works are in Persian. He has also written in Turkish, Arabic and Greek. Rumi influenced the writers of the past and the present generation.

His verses present a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through mind and love to become one with God, they speak of love and its omnipresence in the world. He believed that humanity ought to seek oneness with God.

Through the poem "Let Go of Your Worries", Rumi conveys the idea of being responsible and self-aware. His simple diction makes the message clear. It is said straightforwardly, though the poem has a deeper level of meaning which is about self-awareness and integrity.

It shows how pure our heart is, how clear our soul is and how organized our mind is. The mirror is a symbol that reflects our honesty towards ourselves. One ought to explore the inner transparency of life and the truth of existence. No individual should get caught in the murky waters of life. On the contrary, one must focus on the 'inner truth'.

Rumi advocates the readers to give up their negative thoughts and worries. One should know oneself, i.e., one should look within oneself to understand what one is. Rumi believed that a self-aware human being is one with clear ideals.

Line by line explanation

Let Go of Your Worries

Let go of your worries ........ contains no images.

The poet asks you to give up your worries and clear your heart like the face of a mirror. A mirror doesn’t contain any images. Your heart should be clean without preconceived notions or prejudices. The poet uses the symbol of a mirror to convey the idea of knowing oneself. The mirror shows who you are, without any deviation. A mirror honestly reflects what is in front of it.

If you want a clear mirror.......... the mirror reflects.

If you want to see a clear mirror, see yourself in a mirror, the mirror honestly reflects things as it is. The mirror reflects truth, which is shameless to show up. The mirror symbol is used to show how pure your heart, mind and soul are.

If metal can be polished ........ heart require?

A mirror is polished out of metal which reflects reality. The heart also requires polishing. But what kind of polishing might the mirror of the heart require? So that man becomes self-aware and knows himself.

Between the mirror .......... the mirror does not.

There is only a single difference between the mirror and the heart. The heart hides secrets, while the mirror doesn’t.

Analysis

The diction used in the poem is simple, and hence the message of the poem is clear, explicit and concise. It’s easy to understand and follow. “Let go of your worries” is a command, not a statement. There’s no confusion as to what he wants. When he says, “be clear-hearted”, “behold yourself”, and “See the shameless truth” you understand exactly what he is trying to express.

In this poem, Rumi uses the symbol of the mirror. He says, “if you want a clear mirror, behold yourself and see the shameless truth, which the mirror reflects”. The poet uses the symbol of the mirror to show how pure the heart, soul, and mind are. These mirrors always show the truth of who you are.

The theme of this poem is that people should explore the inner transparency of their existence to not get caught up in the mud life throws at them and focus on their inner truth. Rumi wants the reader to release negative energy and worries and look inside themselves.

The Grammar Translation Method

The Grammar Translation Method is a method of teaching any foreign language in its simplest way. It is the oldest method used since ages to teach Latin or Greek languages. Hence it is also known as the classical or traditional method of teaching languages. In the United States, this method was first known as the Prussian Method.

The grammar–translation method is a traditional method of teaching foreign languages. In Grammar–translation classes, students learn the rules of grammar and then apply them by translating sentences from the target language into their mother tongue. At a higher level, students may be required to translate the entire text word-for-word.

This method has two main goals:

-to enable students to read and translate literature written in the source language, and

-to further students' general intellectual development.

The Grammar Translation Method originated from the practice of teaching Latin, in the early 16th century. Students then learned Latin for communication, but after the language died out it was studied purely as an academic discipline. When teachers started teaching other foreign languages like English, French and Italian in the 19th century, they followed the same translation-based approach.

Since the Grammar Translation method aims at developing students' reading ability and their general mental discipline, it focuses on reading and writing and has developed techniques which facilitate the learning of reading and writing only. As a result, speaking and listening are neglected.

The material used for the Grammar–translation method is textbooks. A chapter in such a textbook would begin with a bilingual vocabulary list and then grammatical rules for students to study and sentences for them to translate.

In this method, classes are conducted in the student's native language. Grammatical rules are presented and learned deductively, and students learn grammar rules by rote. Then they practice the rules by doing grammar drills and translating sentences to and from the target language. More attention is paid to the form of the sentences. Tests often involve translating classical texts.

Characteristics

1. The student’s native language is the medium of instruction.

2. Reading and writing are focused, and no attention is paid to speaking and writing.

3. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice. More time is devoted to translating sentences into and out of the target language.

4. Accuracy is emphasized. Students are expected to attain high standards in translation.

5. Grammar is taught deductively- i.e., by presentation and study of grammar rules, which are then practised through translation exercises.

6. Words are taught through bilingual word lists. Vocabulary items are presented with their translation equivalents.

7. Reading difficult text is begun early.

8. Little or no attention is paid to the pronunciation of words.

Techniques used in GTM Class

1. Translation of a literary passage

The students translate a reading passage from the target language into the native language. The translation may be written or spoken.

2. Reading comprehension questions

The students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the passage they read.

3. Antonyms/synonyms

The students are asked to find out the antonym of some words in the passage.

4. Deductive application of the rules.

Grammar rules are presented with examples. The exception to each rule is also noted. Once the students understand a rule, they are instructed to apply it to some different examples.

5. Fill in the blanks

The students are given a series of sentences with words missing and they fill in the blanks with new vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type.

6. Memorization

Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language equivalents and are asked to memorize them. Students are also required to memorize grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugation.

7. Use words in sentences

To show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words.

8. Composition

The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language. The topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson.

Advantages

1. It saves time and effort.

2. It enriches the learner’s vocabulary.

3. Correct knowledge of the grammar insisted.

4. Students acquire good grammar skills.

5. It is applicable to all levels

Limitations

1. It restricts the skills of speaking and listening to a foreign language.

2. Since the reading skill is facilitated first, the natural order of learning language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is ignored.

3. Speaking skills in the target language are neglected.

4. It develops bookish knowledge about the language, listening and speaking do not get due importance.

5. It emphasizes the rules of grammar more than the use.

6. This method encourages students to think first in their mother tongue and then to translate their thoughts into English. This hinders fluency.

In the mid and late 19^th century opposition to the Grammar-Translation Method gradually developed in several European countries. This resulted in laying the foundations for the development of new ways of teaching languages.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias (Line 10) - Ozymandias is the ancient Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. He was a powerful king of ancient Egypt who ruled from (1301-1234 B. C.). This poem is about the ruins of his statue, said to have been found in the Sahara Desert. Shelley describes a crumbling statue of Ozymandias as a way to portray the transience of political power and to praise art’s power of preserving the past.

Shelley had read the ancient Greek writer Diodorus Siculus’s transcription of the inscription on Ozymandias’s pedestal, and this poem emerged from a friendly poetry competition Shelley had with a friend, where the prompt was to compose a sonnet incorporating that transcription.

Form:

Ozymandias is a sonnet- a fourteen-line poem metered in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is ABABACDCEDEFEF. It has no characteristic octave and sestet structure.

Poem

I met a traveller from ....... Stand in the desert. . . .

The speaker of the poem begins by stating that he had met a traveller who came from an ancient country, here possibly, Egypt. The traveller told him about two large stone legs of a statue stand upright in the desert. The legs lack a torso or trunk to connect them.

…..Near them, on the sand,

.......... sneer of cold command,

Near the legs, there is the broken face of the statue lying half buried in the sand. The statue's facial expression is a frown and a wrinkled lip, which form a commanding, haughty scorn on the broken face.

Tell that its sculptor .......... on these lifeless things,

The expression shows that the sculptor of the statue understood the passions, i.e., emotions of the person the statue is based on (Ozymandias’), and still those emotions survive, carved or imprinted forever on that inanimate stone.

*Passions (Line 6) - “Passions” refers to Ozymandias’s emotions, i.e., his arrogance, hatred, and sense of superiority. The sculptor originally read those “passions” on Ozymandias, and then carved them onto the stone, where from everyone could read those emotions.

*Stamped (Line 7) - Stamped means “carved or engraved.” However, “stamped” also calls to mind what Ozymandias wanted to do to his opposition: stamp them out. The use of "stamped" implies that Ozymandias’s tyranny is permanently branded into the statue along with his other features.

The hand that mocked* them, and the heart that fed;

In making the face, the sculptor’s skilled hands mocked up a perfect recreation of those feelings and of the heart that fed those feelings. The hand is that of the sculptor and it is said to copy the image of Ozymandias vividly. The heart of the sculptor understood the emotions of Ozymandias and managed to show them effectively in the statue he made. Synecdoche has been used in the lines 'The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed'.

*Mocked (Line 8) - As he describes the artist who made the statue of Ozymandies, the traveller notes the features of the statues face as well as the “hand that mocked them.” Mock, in this context, has two meanings. First, it means both to make a copy or replica, as in the phrase "mock up." Second, it means to make fun of someone, as in "the bully mocked his victim's appearance. "By using the word "mock," the traveller suggests on the one hand that the sculptor made an excellent likeness of Ozymandias, but also that, by portraying Ozymandias's arrogant cruelty so vividly, the sculptor ridiculed, or at least implicitly critiqued him.

And on the pedestal........ and despair!

The words inscribed on the pedestal of the statue read: "My name is Ozymandias, the King who rules over other Kings. Behold what I have built, all you who think of yourselves as powerful, and despair at the greatness and superiority of my accomplishments."

Nothing beside ........... stretch far away.”

There is nothing else in the area. Surrounding the remnants of the large statue is a never-ending and barren desert, with empty and flat sands stretching into the distance.

*Remains (Line 12) - “Remains” in this poem can have three different meanings. It can be the verb “to remain,” which means, “nothing else is left,” or it could be one of two nouns. 1. “Remains” can refer to a historical relic or object, so the sentence would mean that there is nothing left apart from the artifact of the statue. 2. "remains" could also mean a corpse, in which case the broken statue is being metaphorically portrayed as a dead human body: there was nothing besides these remains.

Identity Card by S. Joseph

S. Joseph (born 1965) is an Indian poet writing in Malayalam in the post-modern era. He was born in the village of Pattithanam near Ettumanoor, Kottayam. Joseph began writing poetry very early, at the age of 16. He has published a number of works on contemporary issues that affect the common man and also the ones who toil in the lower rungs of society. He works as a lecturer in Malayalam at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. His poetry collection Uppante Kooval Varakkunnu won the 2012 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. He was bestowed with the prestigious Odakkuzhal award in 2015, for his contributions to Malayalam poetry.

His poetry collections:

Karutha Kallu (Kottayam: D. C. Books, 2000)
Meenkaran (Kottayam: D. C. Books, 2003)
Identity card (Kottayam: D. C. Books, 2005)
Uppante Kooval Varakkunnu (Kottayam: D. C. Books, 2011)
Vellam Ethra Lalithamanu (2011).
Chandranodoppam (DC Books:Kottayam)

Dalit writers like S. Joseph captures Dalit community life in urban and rural settings. In their arguments and narratives, the caste acquires a new meaning. Joseph emerged as a pioneer of contemporary Malayalam Dalit poetry by narrating the first-hand experience of agony and alienation. His poems give an authentic and genuine voice to Dalits. He was able to challenge the age-old Brahminical poetic traditions while offering verses that soothed the wounds of the lower caste people. His work is a rare example of Dalit literature that borrows inspiration from across India's states, a feat that is challenging because of linguistic barriers. His poems meditate on the cruelties of caste while simultaneously speaking of the beauty, love and generosity with which a Dalit person deals with such cruelties.

His poetry is about down-to-earth people who are missing from Kerala’s group photograph- weavers, fisher-folk, labourers, farmers and other common people who lead less ‘noble’ lives. His poems are noted for the detailed portraits of Dalit life.

We all know that Kerala state is renowned for its educational achievement. But in the very same state, how the class of a person turns out to be a cause of discrimination is well expressed by S. Joseph in Identity Card.

“Identity Card”

In my student days .............

Won’t have scribbling in red.

In this poem, the poet shows a world where love seldom triumphs over caste identity. The poem starts with a nostalgic memory- when the poet was a college student, he had a love affair with a classmate. She came to the class with a smiling face, they shared a bench and food, and enjoyed the thrill of touch.

Our hands met .......Christian family. (3-6)

The past love affair is portrayed with the visual image of the young lovers sharing a lunch of rice and fish curry on the same plate, the romantic experience they shared as their hands met while kneading the rice. Sitting on a bench, they became a Hindu-Christian family. The poet is trying to say that the difference in religion does not impede the course of love.

The poet then continues to say that he spent his time in a pleasant lazy way reading Neruda's poetry. He believed in an egalitarian society and he found Inspiration in Neruda's poetry which was driven by political motives. Neruda was a Chilean poet known for his love poems and revolutionary political ideas in his poems. He read Neruda’s poetry because those poems gave a voice to a population that was ignored by their government and by the upper classes. Those poems gave courage and pride to the struggling working class.

Then the poet comes to a turning point in his affair. One day he misplaced his identity card. He never imagined that he would lose his love along with the identity card. His girlfriend found his lost identity card and gave it to him saying,

the account of your stipend ..... there in red. (13-14)

The moment she noticed the stipend amount he receives on his identity card; it marked the end of their relationship. He loses his upper-caste ladylove because of the red-ink entries found on his Identity Card. The card and stipend he receives as a Dalit, mark his caste and class and cost him his love. Although religion is not a matter in a love affair, the cast is. His caste makes love impossible for him in a pseudo-modern society that pretends to be a secularist. The red scribblings on his identity card have become modern-day caste mark in a state, where conversions to Christianity was promised with the disappearance of caste identity and discrimination. Here, anti-reservationists considered those who had made use of reservations and stipend as inefficient. It still continues.

This incident caused him to change his belief system regarding romantic affairs. Now whenever he sees a boy and girl deeply in love, he is sure that they will depart very soon for the same reason of his. Even if they unite, he wouldn’t be surprised because that boy will never be a Dalit. This is a short poem where much lies unsaid between red scribbles on a college ID card and intensely charged lines of verse. S. Joseph depicted the plight of a Dalit who has no right even in his love relations.

The theme of Marginalization in the poem

Caste discrimination is a common experience for people who belong to lower Castes and the Speaker has realized it very young in his life. The 'girl' who came 'laughing' at his life rejects him for his caste. See the line- 'Returning my card'. It is symbolic of the closure of their relationship. The 'card' was supposed to remove the oppression and lack of status attributed to the Dalits. S. Joseph expresses through this poem, the subaltern experience of the speaker who is loved once but later neglected by others for his caste. The speaker in the poem ridicules the 'subaltern marginalization' through his poem.

The speaker was discredited by his lover for being a Dalit and realizes that caste will always remain a factor in the relations and associations of people with one another. After the incident, he decided to distance himself from his lovers. He knows that only people belonging to the same caste have the possibility of uniting. The identity card is an image of Indifference, resignation and loss of hope, He thinks that Dalit Identity will remain marginal and discriminatory always.

In the Indian context, the poem sums up the issues of the Adivasis, the Dalits with the responsibility falling on the issue of 'lower caste' or even 'out-caste'; and also people who are perceived as backward.

The 'religion-caste' nexus, an instance of a 'historical wrong' still taints the claims of modern Indian secularism. Being a Dalit student denied his freedom in a county that we call secular democratic. Even in the mind of children, this dangerous discrimination is being injected by society. The real betrayal is not singular or by an individual; it is a many-layered betrayal by politics, a government, and an era. What he encounters is not a traditional taboo but a modern stigma.

To conclude, the poem is written in free verse. It doesn’t conform to any traditional elite model of versification. The diction is simple and lucid. The poem is a portrayal of the Dalit experience of rejection and pain brought about by his birth into an underprivileged caste.