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Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Author: Omar Khayyam
In the eleventh century, in Persia, there lived a mathematician named Ghiyathuddin Abulfath Omar bin Ibrahim al-Khayyami--or, Omar, son of Abraham, the tent-maker. Omar wrote poetry, and while his rhymes received little attention in their day, they were rediscovered and translated into beautiful English--more than seven centuries later--by a gen...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780312695279
ISBN-10: 0312695276
Publication Date: 8/15/1983
Pages: 128
Rating:
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 1

2.5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
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sphinx avatar reviewed Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 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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