The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Summary

 Rubaiyat. 

 Was originally written in Persian language and it was translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald.

Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)

> A Persian Philosopher and poet.
> Born in Nishapur , North east Persia.

> Lived during the great Seljuk Empire.

> Was a notable poet, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.

> Khayyam wrote poetry mainly in 4 lined stanzas or quatrains

The Title "Rubaiyat"

> 'Rubai' is the Farsi word for a poem composed in 4 lines or a quatrain.

> So Rubaiyat is the plural for rubai

> And Rubaiyat means  a compilation of quatrains

> It is generally believed that Khayyam wrote poetry mainly in quatrains

> Khayyam's poetry was introduced to the English reading world by the English writer and translator, Edward Fitzgerald.

> Fitzgerald in his 1859 translation, gave it the title, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Rubaiyat and it's theme

> It is arguably the most famous Persian literary work in the world.

> 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 return is not possible

> So enjoy the present before we too settle into dust.

> Edward Fitzgerald called Khayyam's philosophy as Epicurean philosophy in the preface of his own work 

> Later thinkers like Nietzsche, Albert Camus and Jean Paul Satre too reflected the same ideas in their Existential philosophy.

Autobiographical Elements in the poem

> While the poet was young he too went in search of wisdom, which ultimately proved futile.

> It offers a criticism of the futility of the pursuit of worldly wisdom, the end result of which is the realisation that life is too short.

> This is the ultimate truth- ie life is short.

Analogies used in the poem

> The poet compares human life on earth to a fully blossomed flower which shall definitely wither away in course of time.
> Human life is fleeting just like  wind and water that come from an unknown source and vanish to some unknown place.
> The pursuit of knowledge is compared to a crop; sowing the seeds and hoping for harvest, but the ultimate result / harvest is the realisation of the sheer transience of earthly life.

Other Poems that shares the same philosophy

To His Coy Mistress by the Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell

> The poet here is urging his beloved to indulge in love , to get united as time is flying so fast .
> He asks his lady love to enjoy the pleasures of the present, which is called Carpe diem.

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray

> Can storied urn or animated bust back to its mansion call the fleeting breath-

> Which means, nothing can bring back dead ones back to life.

> So death is the ultimate leveller , so it is not possible to return to earth inorder to live the once lived life for a second time. 

Quatrain 25

25

Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss’d

Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust

Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn

Are scatter’d and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.

> Both the wise and holy ie. the sages and the saints who discussed The Two worlds - this world, life on earth and the world after death, so keenly too shall pass away. After their death , they shall be pushed aside like foolish prophets.

> The poet was also one among them. He had to return empty handed without gaining anything but losing a great part of life foolishly spent for the futile pursuit of wisdom.

Important Questions from this part

1. What were the topics of discussion for the sages?

The sages and saints, who assumed themselves to be wise, were discussing the two worlds, ie, the present world, or life on earth before death and the other world, after death . But their quest never ended as they gained nothing from those futile discussions, except the ultimate truth  that life is too short 

2. How will the wisdom of wise men be judged after their death?

After their death , they shall be pushed aside like foolish prophets. People shall only look contemptuously on the teachings and philosophy of these wise men and they are gradually forgotten in course of time 

3. Who become foolish prophets after death? Why are they called so?

The sages and saints, who assumed themselves to be wise are referred to as foolish prophets. They were simply whiling away their blissful youth , in pursuit of wisdom. After their death , they shall be pushed aside like foolish prophets. People shall only look contemptuously on the teachings and philosophy of these wise men and they are gradually forgotten in course of time 

26

Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise

To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;

One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;

The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

> Let us leave the so-called wise people behind to pursue their  futile discussion on the two worlds.
> Come with me, let's enjoy the pleasures of the present.
> The ultimate truth is, the brevity of life.

Important Questions from this part

4. What is the only certain thing in life?

> The only thing that is certain is Life flies, it is too short , death is so close and the Rest is Lies. Whatever we see around are different versions of lies .

The Flower Metaphor

> The poet compares human life on earth to a fully blossomed flower which shall definitely wither away in course of time.
> Human life is similarly short lived.
 > Likewise Beauty , youth and every wordly aspect is subject to decay .
> The only thing that doesn't change is the concept of death

" When fate summons even monarchs must obey" ( John Dryden, Mac Flecknoe opening lines)

> Same idea is shared by Kalidasa in Lovely is Youth

27

Myself when young did eagerly frequent

Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument

About it and about: but evermore

Came out by the same Door as in I went

> Here the speaker says that like many men who had believed to be wise, the poet too , during his youth had discussions with many learned men , both doctors and saints.
> But there was no use, he had to exit through the same door by which he entered, empty handed.
> While he was young, he hoped that worldly wisdom would definitely lead him to new insights.
> The door is a metaphor for the futility of the pursuit of wisdom.

Important Questions from this part

4. Whom did the poet frequently visit when he was young?

The poet, like many other men who believed to be wise, often visited many learned saints and doctors who indulged in the pursuit of wisdom. But he had to exit through the same door through which he entered, empty handed.

28

With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,

And with my own hand labour’d it to grow;

And this was all the Harvest that I reap’d—

‘I came like Water, and like Wind I go’.

> The speaker admits that his lifelong pursuit of wisdom is fruitless.
> Here he uses the extended metaphor of sowing seeds of wisdom and hoping for harvest.
> But ultimately what we reap is the realisation that "I came like Water, and like Wind I go’."
> Life is short and menacing.
> Here the poet compares the flow of human life to the two uncontrollable elements of Nature- water and wind.
>The elements of water and wind represent infinity as water flows from an infinite and unknown source and the wind flies away to an unknown place. So is our life. We come from an unknown place (before birth), and are born into this world.
> Same idea is presented in Kalidasa's Lovely is Youth
> Similar lines are inscribed on the tombstone of the great romantic poet, John Keats- " Here lies one whose name was writ in water".

Important Questions from this part

How does the poet describe his journey on earth?

 The  poet says that journey on earth is fleeting. We come from an unknown source just like water similarly we do vanish into some unknown corner of the world like the invisible wind.

Major Themes

Brevity of human life/ transience of earthly life

Human life is too short and fleeting.

Enjoy the Present/ Carpe diem

As life on earth is too short, enjoy the present to the fullest.

Mad Pursuit of knowledge/ Wisdom is futile

Sometimes life leads us to nowhere, our mad pursuit of wisdom takes away all good moments of our life, leaving us old , withered and burdened with regret of not having enjoyed the blissful youth.

Major Literary Devices Employed

Q 25

Metaphor. 

> the Two Worlds- life before and after death
> The poet has used Similey when he says that the wise men are scorned by people after their death  like foolish prophets.

Q26
> The phrase Life Flies is an example of  personification

Q 27
> Metaphor of a door to indicate the futility of the mad pursuit of knowledge.

 Q28

The poet has also used an extended Metaphor of crop to represent the futility in sowing seeds of wisdom and hoping for harvest.

Irony is also employed in the same line.

Aphorism 

Every line represents a universal truth or principle. Thus the poem itself is an example of Aphorism.