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The Rubáiyát: A Labour of Love

The Rubáiyát: A Labour of Love. Reza Taher-Kermani.
Victoriographies, 7 (2017) 1, pp. 76-80.

This is an essay on the genesis of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The contention is that the Rubáiyát ensued, at least, partly from the affection that Edward FitzGerald had for his friend and mentor in Persian, Edward Byles Cowell. FitzGerald used Omar Khayyám as an excuse to stay in touch with his dear friend Cowell, who left England after introducing him to Khayyám and his poetry. But FitzGerald soon fell in love with ‘Omar’, his new Persian mentor, and replaced the love that he had for Cowell with the one he developed for ‘Omar’. The result of this love was the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

Love and wine in Khayyam and Hafez

Love and wine in Khayyam and Hafez. R. Foltz.
In: Persian studies in North America. Studies in honor of Mohammed Ali Jazayery. Ed. by M. Marashi. Bethesda, Iranbooks, 1994. p. 417-421.

Both Omar Khayyam and Hafez of Shiraz are known for writing about wine and love, yet the use of similar images by the two poets belies a great difference in content. This should not be surprising, since beyond the fact that their lives were separated by were separated by three centuries, the two men differed vastly in nature as well as circumstance.