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FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát and agnosticism

FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát and agnosticism. Marta Simidchieva.
In: FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Popularity and neglect. Ed. by A. Poole et al. London, Anthem Press, 2011. pp. 55-72.

The author tries to find a possible answer to Pound’s question about the success of FitzGerald’s translation. She puts the first two editions of the Rubáiyát in the intellectual context of the times, in an attempt to discover how the Persian transplants ‘correlate with the [host] system’. She contends that the poetic persona of the Persian sage, and the agnostic overlay which FitzGerald created through his choices as an editor and interpreter of the Khayyámic legacy, were as instrumental in ensuring the worldwide fame of the Rubáiyát as FitzGerald’s prowess as a translator.

Les quatrains irréligieux d’Omar Khayyâm

Les quatrains irréligieux d’Omar Khayyâm. G. Lazard.
In: Au carrefour des religions: mélanges offerts à Philippe Gignoux. Bures-sur-Yvette, Groupe pour l’Étude de la Civilisation, 1995. p. 177-182.

The Persian poems of Omar Khayyam give interesting information on the religious views of this famous scientist. An investigation of the quatrains preserved by the most reliable sources points to Khayyam most likely being an atheist. This hypothesis explains why his poetry is ignored by the oldest writers who mention his name: it was produced for a small circle of close friends and, out of cautiousness, was not made known outside of it for some time.

Omar Khayyam: savant et philosophe

Omar Khayyam: savant et philosophe. Pierre Salet. Paris, Maisonneuve Frères, 1927

Summary

Salet admet toutes les contradictions de la totalité des quatrains attribués à Khayyam; ils lui content l’histoire “une âme inuiète cherchant partout le calme dès certitudes consolantes”; cette histoire, M. Salet la commente en une dizaine de chapitres où il insère la traduction des quatrains (ou des fragments de quatrains) qu’il considère comme typiques. Ces citations nombreuses suppléeront en quelque mesure à la traduction de Nicolas qui devient une rareté.

Contents

L’oeuvre scientifique d’Omar Khayyam
Les Quatrains
Le poète et Dieu
L’amour et son symbolisme
Religion et religions
Le Kalam et la table du destin
Le pessimisme du poète
La coupe de la création
La roue des cieux
Le vin de l’échanson étemel
Le pantheïsme des Soufis
APPENDICE
La réforme du calendrier
Le traite d’Algèbre

Omar and the new era

Omar and the new era. Achtenhagen, Olga. The English Journal, 16 (1927) 8 (October), pp. 598–602

Students reflecting on reading and thinking about the Rubáiyát.