Review (PDF) Rubáiyát Of Omar Khayyám (Oxford World's Classics)
In 1859, Edward FitzGerald translated into English the short, epigrammatic poems (or "rubáiyát") of medieval Persian poet Omar Khayyám. If not a true translation--his Omar seems to have read Shakespeare and the King James Bible--the poem nevertheless conveyed some of the most beautiful and haunting images in English poetry, and some of the sharpest-edged. By the end of the century, it was one of the best-known poems in the English language, admired by Swinburne and Ruskin. Daniel Karlin's richly annotated edition focuses on the poem as a work of Victorian literary art, doing justice to the scope and complexity of FitzGerald's lyrical meditation on "human death and fate." Karlin provides a fascinating critical introduction which documents the poem's treatment of its Persian sources, along with its multiple affiliations with English and Classical literature and to the Bible. A selection of contemporary reviews offers an insight into the poem's early reception, including the first attack on its status as a translation.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0199580502
ISBN-13: 978-0199580507
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.7 x 5 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #784,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #102 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > World Literature > African & Middle Eastern #196 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Middle Eastern #678 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval > Ancient & Classical
This book is academic and better than many which include only one of the Fitzgerald's several editions. It includes the first edition curiously with only 2 quatrains on a page. The other editions are 'confounded' in a 4 page "TABLES OF CORRESPONDING STANZAS" and 20 pages of annotated VARIANTS. That is an inefficient way to show the extraordinary improvements in the impact of key stanzas made by a brilliant mind tinkering with a masterpeice over decades.The Rubiayat uses 4 line stanzas urging us to enjoy life. Much of its power is in the superb changes which Fitzgerald made over time. For example the last two verses of the 4th edition which suggest the way the living should honor their dead loved ones I find much better than the earlier versions.
This edition of the constantly-reprinted Rubaiyyat focuses too much on Fitzgerald for my taste; however, students of Victorian literature will appreciate such a close study.
a classic, good presentation
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