The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyám

Compare the rose quatrain in the first version XVIII and fifth version XIX: its Lap becomes her Lap. Then compare the Moving Finger in first LI and fifth LXXI, where thy becomes your. The selected anthology passages match the fifth version under limited normalization, with the Cæsar/Caesar typographic distinction retained. Two other anthology excerpts have wording differences from this linked text. English correspondence does not authenticate the Persian poems or establish which edition the compiler used. The introduction and notes are historical interpretation, not an Edsverb endorsement.

Who it suits

Readers interested in mortality, translation choices and the context behind familiar English quatrains.

Reading experience

Moderate; older English spellings, variant versions, historical introduction and disputed Persian attribution. This is an Edsverb editorial guide, not a measured reading score.

The edition

Edition

Edward FitzGerald English verse rendering; first and fifth versions supplied; underlying print edition and year unspecified

Language

English

Translator

Edward FitzGerald

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