The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is one of Edward Fitzgerald's masterpieces in translation. He himself stated that there might be no one else who took such care in translation as he did with this piece. This bold statement might be contested by many, as his translations are often found to be more artistic and less accurate. However, Edward Fitzgerald's version has definitely gained more prominence than any of the originals. While this poem was published in multiple versions, this analysis will focus on the original one.
The original quatrains of Omar Khayyam were never meant to be piled together in any specific order. They were written as individual pieces, thoughts of the author on a specific subject or feeling. Edward Fitzgerald took them, compiled them and managed to create an epic poem with one central theme, namely carpe diem, or seize the day. While this might seem like a completely uplifting message, the poem has some more sombre, philosophical explanations for it. The individual should focus on the day, and enjoy the time it has been given for this existence is the only true thing one can really know. One's past and one's present are shrouded in mystery. One's place in the world is something only a higher power would know. Omar Khayyam's solution to this mental dilemma was wine, a lot of wine.
The poem presents us with a narrator whose life defies most of the standard staples of a Muslim in the 11th century. The Middle East of this time was a centre of learning and science, yet highly engaged in religious ritual. The original author himself is mostly known for his astronomical and mathematical work. However, the character in the poem is basically a drunk who refuses to learn, who talks of fate and creation as unmovable facts that make any attempt to change one's life futile. The way the poem is written can be quite humorous at times, with a strong focus on the drinking of wine. The symbol of the wine cup is a recurring theme that keeps the audience focussed on this one solution for all the world's problems. The narrator argues that the audience should not learn, should not participate in religious tradition and should not fight against their fate. The one thing they should do is drink, as the drunken state is the one thing that truly brings you closer to God. Throughout this plethora of references to wine, the narrator also talks about the inevitability of death.
Conclusively, while the individual quatrains can be quite uplifting, even intellectual, the way Edward Fitzgerald chose to compile them gives the audience a character that seems to be depressed by his own realizations on the futility of life itself. The audience is urged to live in the day, as thought of anything else would depress you even more. No one can escape death, and death truly is the end. This bleak outlook on live and religion nevertheless manages to be one of the best written translations that managed to far outcompete the original. It also still reads as an uplifting tale of hedonistic pleasures and carelessness.
