 Who is Omar Khayyam?

 About the original version.

 Edward Fitzgerald and the English version.
 Ahmed Rami and the Arabic version.
 Similarities and differences.
 Reception theory.
o He is Ghiyath al-Din Abu al-Fath: Omar Ibrahim
al-Khayam Nishapuri.
)‫غياث الدين أبو الفتح (عمر إبراهيم خيام نيشابوري‬
o He was a Persian polymath, philosopher,
mathematician, astronomer and poet.
o He also wrote treatises on: mechanics, geography,
mineralogy, music, and Islamic theology.
o He is best known for his: Rubaiyat poetry.
Definition of “rubai”:
(Persian term) which is a poetry style.
It is used to describe the Persian quatrain (a
stanza or poem of four lines).
The plural form, rubayiat, is used to describe
a collection of such quatrains.
 The Rubaiyat presents the deep feelings of the
poet on the following topics:
 Life: enjoy your days
 Death (the passage of time)
 Love
 Religion
We will look at:
• Title.
• The author.
• Main ideas.
• Style of each.
 The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is the title that
Edward Fitzgerald gave to his translation of a
selection of poems, originally written in Persian by
Omar Khayyam.
 Edward Fitzgerald
o He is an English poet and writer.
o He is best known as the poet of the first and the
most famous translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar
Khayyam.
 Edward Fitzgerald
o He is a Victorian poet.
o He lived the chaos resulted from the
publication of Darwin's book, On the
Origin of Species.
What is the Rubaiyat about?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the poem:

“reveal a man of deep thought, troubled by the questions of

the nature of reality and the eternal, the impermanence and
uncertainty of life, and man’s relationship to God.”
 Carpe Diem (Seize the day).
 Wine as the water of life.
 Fate “Moving Finger”.
 Ineluctable (inevitable) death.
It can be discussed with regard to the following levels:
 Phonological Level
 Lexical Level
 Semantic Level
 Syntactic Level
Poem format: Quatrain (four- line stanza)

Meter: Iambic pentameter

Rhyme scheme: a-a-b-a OR a-a-a-a

Alliteration:
the use of several words together that
begin with the same sound or letter in order
to make a special effect, especially in poetry.
(Longman Dictionary)
Alliteration:
• A phonetic stylistics device.
• It aims at imparting a melodic effect to
an utterance.
• The essence lies in the repetition of
similar sounds, in particular consonant
sounds.
Alliteration:
 from the field (stanza 1)
 The phantom of false (stanza 2)
 As the cock crew (stanza 3)
 Soul to solitude (stanza 4)
Assonance:
• A partial or half rhyme much used in
poetic language as an aspect of sound
patterning and cohesion.
• It is the repetition of the vowel sound.
Assonance:
Drives Night … And strikes (stanza 1)
Of false morning (stanza 2)
Puts out, … from the ground (stanza 4)
High-…Wine! Wine! Wine (stanza 6)
o The successful choice of words.
o Different words giving the same meaning
(echoing), for example:
Wake … sun
Stars … night
o The semantic level involves recognition of
the stylistic devices in a text.
o Here, the main employed devices are
metaphors, symbols, and other figures of
speech.
o All related to the main themes of the poem.
Metaphor:
“shaft of light”
Symbolism:
The rose
o It aims at logical emphasis; an emphasis
necessary to fix the attention of the reader
on the key words of the utterance.
• Repetition of some verbs like (knows),
(cried )

• Repetition of some articles (the/a)

• Repetition of active voice (not passive)
• Repetition of some expressions like (the
tavern, wine, rose) and time references.

• Heavy use of noun phrased (the sun, the

stars, the field, the rose..)
Rubaiyat al- Khayyam
‫رباعيات الخيام‬

Ahmed Rami
o He is an Egyptian poet, songwriter
and translator.
o He is best known for writing lyrics
for the famous Egyptian singers Umm
Kalthoum and Mohammed Abdel
Wahab.
o His famous works of translation are
those of Shakespeare`s plays and of
Omar Khayyam`s rubaiyat.
o He was named “ poet of the youth”
for his considerable contributions to
the Arabic song.
o Ahmed Rami started his translation of
the Rubaiyat in 1932.
o This was a year after he went to Paris
to study Persian.
o His brother`s death, Mahmoud Rami,
in Sudan affected his translation very
much. (the feeling of pain and sorrow)
• Seize the day.
• Working for the afterlife.
• Hope in God`s mercy.
• Death is unavoidable.
The same levels:
 Phonological Level
 Lexical Level
 Semantic Level
 Syntactic Level
Poem format: Quatrain (four- line stanza)

Meter: Iambic pentameter

Rhyme scheme: a-a-b-a

Alliteration:
(stanza 1)
‫كأس العمر كف القدر‬
(stanza 2)
... ‫فليس في طبع‬
‫‪Alliteration:‬‬
‫)‪(stanza 4‬‬
‫يا رب هل يرضيك هذا الظمأ‬
‫)‪(stanza 6‬‬
‫نادى دع النوم وناغ الوتر‬
‫‪Assonance:‬‬
‫)‪(stanza 2‬‬
‫ال تشغل البال بماضي الزمان‬
‫)‪(stanza 4‬‬
‫والماء ينساب أمامي الزالل‬
o The successful choice of words.
o The shadows of the words (the religious
meanings and feelings among the chosen
words).

o Echoing: ‫ صوتا‬... ‫سمعت‬

‫‪Metaphor:‬‬

‫كف القدر ‪ ..‬كأس المنى ‪ ...‬كأس العمر‬

‫‪Metonymy:‬‬

‫يا من يحار الفهم في قدرتك‬

‫‪Personification:‬‬

‫فليس في طبع الليالي األمان‬

‫يا من يحار الفهم في قدرتك‬

• Repetition of some verbs like (‫)اغنم‬, (‫ يحار‬-‫)حرت‬
• Repetition of words like ( ‫ قد‬- ‫)ال – يا – ما‬
• Repetition of imperative form (‫)اغنم – هبوا – فامش‬
• Repetition of some expressions like ( ،‫السحر‬

‫ كأس‬،‫ رحمتك‬،‫ )القلب‬and time references

(‫ ماضي‬،‫) الحاضر‬
Both the English and the Arabic versions have the same:
 Both are lyrical poems.
 Form (poetic style - quatrains)
 Rhyme scheme.
 Style with its four levels (similar use)
 Themes about enjoying our lives, life and
death, fate and religion.
The English and the Arabic versions are
different in their:

understanding of the themes.

• Both versions (Arabic and English) are
well- received.

• The strongest evidence for that is their

popularity all over the world.
o Some critics maintain that the poetic
quality of FitzGerald's finished product
exceeded that of Khayyám's original
quatrains.
o Charles Eliot Norton wrote that the
Rubáiyát : “is the work of a poet inspired
by the work of a poet; not a copy, but a
reproduction, not a translation, but the
redelivery of a poetic inspiration.”
o T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Mark Twain and
most of the Victorian writers read the
translation and praised it.
o It was highly appreciated for the strength
of rhythmical structure, the force of
expression, musical modulation, and its
mastery of language.
It is said to be the best and the most famous
translation for its creative style, successful
word choice and beautiful imagery.