The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam of Naishapur Literary Elements

The narrator of the poem is an unknown person and the poem has been narrated from first person's point of view. The thoughts of Omar Khayyam has been compiled in the poem.

The Persian version was in the form of quatrains but the English version is in stanza form.

The metaphor of 'box' has been used for this world and the humans have been metaphorically described as 'phantoms' which are constantly born and die. The metaphor of 'shadow show' has been used for the reflection of God in this universe. The creation of men has been metaphorically demonstrated by the 'pottery shop' and the metaphor of 'pot' has been used for the human beings, who are made by the 'pottery maker' i.e. the God. A person who gets indulged in recognizing the divine, has been described through the metaphor of a 'drunkard.' The drunkard becomes oblivious of his past and future and lives in the present moment. He solely relies on God and his plans because he knows that destiny or fate cannot be changed through wisdom or other futile intellectual efforts. The metaphor of 'wine' has been used for the enlightenment.

The examples of alliteration are To-morrow? Why tomorrow, myself with yesterday,About it and about but evermore and Magic shadow show. There are repetitions of 't','m','r','w','y',s'b','t' and 's' sounds respectively.
The examples of assonance are myself with yesterday seven thousand years, myself when young did eagerly frequent, To-morrow? Why tomorrow, heard great argument, about it and about and For in and out, above, about, below. There are repetitions of 'e','e','u','o','e',a',a','i','o',a','o' and 'e' sounds respectively.

The irony in the poem is that the intellectuals think that they can predict about past or future bu their discussions are futile. Another irony is that people believe that they can change their fates through their intellect or wisdom, but the poet says that it is something which cannot be altered. Fate has been written by God and we cannot change it even with our tears, so, it is useless to challenge our fate.

Epic Poem.

The setting of the place is universal. Although the original poem has been written in Persia in the eleventh century but the present version has been written in nineteenth century in England.

Pensive, Awakening, Mystic, daring, Religious.

The protagonist of the poem is a drunkard who drinks the wine of enlightenment and surrenders before his fate. He does not try to challenge the fate and lives in the present moment. The worries of the past and the fears of the future do not bother him.

The major conflict in the poem is between man and his fate. Man considers fate as something alterable so he challenges it because of relying on his intellect and sometimes he try to change it through crying with tears. The poet has conveyed the idea through the poem that fate cannot be changed.

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When the narrator says that as a young man he had encountered various doctors and saints who passed through the same gates from which he entered, it foreshadows the futility of futile arguments and efforts of learned persons.

The understatement in the poem is that the knowledge of God and enlightenment make a person oblivious of the misers of past and the horrors of future. They bring a sense of contentment and enable a person to live in the present moment. Another understatement is that a man cannot run away from his fate and he has to submit himself before the Almighty. His intellectual efforts or his tears cannot force God to alter his plans. God has made human beings like a pottery maker and he is the owner of all the creation of this universe. Every man shall taste death.

There are allusions to afterlife, death, divinity, the universe, mysticism, the creation of human beings, fate, futile intellectual efforts, tavern, God and enlightenment.

An example of metonymy is a drunkard who represents all the people who strives to get access to the divine. An example of synecdoche is 'wine'. The poet has alluded towards enlightenment and 'Ma'arfat' through the description of wine.

Fate, life, death, pots, wine, shadow and the world has been personified in the poem.

The hyperbole has been used to narrate the benefits of wine. The narrator says that it can give access to the divine and it makes a person oblivious of his past and present and confines himself to his present.

The examples of onomatopoeia are crying, filling the cup, and moving.