"The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam"

"The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Fifth Edition" by Edward Fitzgerald (1889)

Published posthumously, the fifth edition of Fitzgerald’s “The Rubaiyat” differs significantly from the first both in its translation and in the total number of verses. The fifth edition contains 101 verses in contrast to the 75 quatrains of the first version. While the fifth edition is considered by some literary scholars to be Fitzgerald’s most polished translation, others like Daniel Karlin believe the first edition is a masterpiece the revisions cannot match. Fitzgerald took up the revisions because of frequent criticisms that his translation was erroneous and too loose. It is useful to contrast the various versions of “The Rubaiyat” to gain a deeper understanding of the processes of Fitzgerald’s translation and editing.

"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (1681)

Written a few centuries before Fitzgerald translated “The Rubaiyat,” “To His Coy Mistress” (likely written in the 1650s and published posthumously) explores similar themes of carpe diem or making the most of the present moment. Marvell and the poem’s influence are clear in Fitzgerald’s translation. Like “The Rubaiyat,” in which the quest for pleasure is informed by the awareness of time running out, “To His Coy Mistress” cannot shake off the scepter of impending death. In the poem, the speaker exhorts his shy beloved to make love, since death is unexpected and inevitable. The thematic difference between the two poems is that the speaker of Marvell’s verse is focused on erotic pleasure, while “The Rubaiyat” concerns itself with sensory pleasure in general.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost (1923)

Robert Frost’s poem is an example of how Fitzgerald’s rubai was adapted to English. A philosophical lyric poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is written in iambic pentameter quatrains with the rhyme scheme AABA. Frost’s use of the English rubai form shows the adaptability of the Persian form, as well as the popularity of Fitzgerald’s writings. Like the verses of “The Rubaiyat,” Frost’s often-quoted poem also features many memorable expressions and lines.