The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Fitzgerald 5th edition)
Omar Khayyam
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is so-named from the Persian word rubáiyát - a Persian word denoting a specific type of two-line stanza. Omar's Rubaiyat is a beautiful anthology of Islamic wisdom literature: originally penned in medieval Persian during the late 11th century AD.
The best known English translations are those by Edward Fitzgerald: his fifth (and last) translation includes a mere 101 quatrains - a fraction of Omar's original work. Fitzgerald's selection loosely groups quatrains by theme; rendering quatrains into English as four-line, rhymed stanzas.
Omar's writings are pervaded by the consciousness of the transient quality of life. In his Rubáiyát, the author ponders the limits of human knowledge and morality: and confronts his readers point-blank with the difficult questions that challenge every generation:
- what is the ultimate benefit derived from human knowledge?
- given human mortality; is is best to guide our lives by the dictates of reason, or sensuality?
- what happens to my soul when I die?
- why did God - the Creator - give me existence?
(Introduction by Godsend)
Author - Omar Khayyám.
Narrator - LibriVox Community.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is so-named from the Persian word rubáiyát - a Persian word denoting a specific type of two-line stanza. Omar's Rubaiyat is a beautiful anthology of Islamic wisdom literature: originally penned in medieval Persian during the late 11th century AD. The best known English translations are those by Edward Fitzgerald: his fifth (and last) translation includes a mere 101 quatrains - a fraction of Omar's original work. Fitzgerald's selection loosely groups quatrains by theme; rendering quatrains into English as four-line, rhymed stanzas. Omar's writings are pervaded by the consciousness of the transient quality of life. In his Rubáiyát, the author ponders the limits of human knowledge and morality: and confronts his readers point-blank with the difficult questions that challenge every generation: - what is the ultimate benefit derived from human knowledge? - given human mortality; is is best to guide our lives by the dictates of reason, or sensuality? - what happens to my soul when I die? - why did God - the Creator - give me existence? (Introduction by Godsend) Author - Omar Khayyám. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:07:29
Chapter 2
Duration:00:07:20
Chapter 3
Duration:00:07:19
Chapter 4
Duration:00:07:31
Chapter 5
Duration:00:07:52