THE RUBÁIYÁT OF OMAR KHAYYÁM

The Rubáiyát is one of the most popular poems of all time. A collection of quatrains composed in the eleventh century by Persian poe t and philosopher Omar Khayyám, it was first published in English-language translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. Since then, its melancholy tone and enigmatic philosophy of mourning the painful brevity of life while celebrating what pleasures we may find have made it an inspiration to many writers, including Matthew Arnold and Thomas Hardy. More recently, it has also been the subject of ma ny music ...[Read more]