Poetry FitzGerald, Edward: Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (illustrated), v1, 15 Aug 2007

[Patricia]

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám of Naishápúr

Edward Fitzgerald added so much to this alleged translation that he is generally credited as the author.

I’ve included the first and 5th editions of the poem (FitzGerald kept tinkering with it), plus FitzGerald’s Latin version, and some essays at the end.

I have added a lot of pictures (from an out-of-copyright 1921 edition), a TOC, preserved the accents and reformatted.

Omar Khayyám seems to have enjoyed wine, love and reading: an eminently sensible set of priorities. Here’s the 11th quatrain:

XI
Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.

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[RWood]

The second edition of the work is also included in Volume 41 of the Harvard Classics series. (No illustrations.)

To see how things change in both wording and in order, here is verse XII of the second edition:

Here with a little Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

[Patricia]

You can compare all five editions here:

www.therubaiyat.com/

But it's nice to have three of them available between us. Unfortunately, no wine, though.

[Roy White]

oooh.. I started to do this one but had so much trouble with the verses looking good in BD I gave up... Looking forward to this read. My Dad used to quote the Rubbaiyat extensively while drinking Dr. Pepper.

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by Roy White

oooh.. I started to do this one but had so much trouble with the verses looking good in BD I gave up... Looking forward to this read. My Dad used to quote the Rubbaiyat extensively while drinking Dr. Pepper.

Here with a Sony Reader ‘neath the bough,
A brimming cup of Doc Pepper – and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
And Wilderness is paradise enow.

The Moving finger writes; and, having writ,
Someone from Project Gutenberg notes it.
To Book Designer thence the file does go—
Available to mobile readers now.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Roy White

oooh.. I started to do this one but had so much trouble with the verses looking good in BD I gave up... Looking forward to this read. My Dad used to quote the Rubbaiyat extensively while drinking Dr. Pepper.

People look at me funny when I tell them that I prefer Dr Pepper (there is no period after the "Dr") to beer, wine, or a mixed drink. Never acquired the taste for alcohol or Pepsi.

[Roy White]

Patricia... Yep.. That was Dad! Made me laugh.

((No period after Dr... In My DADS house there was!!))