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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam : First and Fifth Editions
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam First and Fifth Editions
Author: Edward FitzGerald
One of the best-known, most often quoted English classics. Edward FitzGerald?s free translation of skeptical, hedonistic verse attributed to Omar Khayy?m (1048?1122), Persian mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. Fifth edition incorporates FitzGerald?s handwritten changes in the fourth edition, and is traditionally printed with the first ed...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780486264677
ISBN-10: 048626467X
Publication Date: 7/1/1990
Pages: 64
Rating:
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 3

2.5 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Dover Publications
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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sphinx avatar reviewed The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam : First and Fifth Editions on + 97 more book reviews
I cannot read or speak Persian/Farsi, so this refers only to the English interpretation, without reference to the original.

I found this to be a beautiful, touching, and contemplative poem, which can be read literally, as a celebration of wine and the beauty of the world that surrounds us, or symbolically, as a reminder to welcome in to one's soul the 'wine of divine light'. Khayyam implores the reader to remember that life is short and a beautiful gift, and that one needs no church or priest or holy book to access heaven, as it is available all around us, if only we can sense its presence. This is the sort of mysticism found in Walt Whitman, and if you like one, you'll probably like the other.

The translation seems very fluid and expresses the dual meaning of the text well.


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