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A comparative analysis of Edward Fitzgerald’s and Robert Graves’s translation of ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’

A comparative analysis of Edward Fitzgerald’s and Robert Graves’s translation of ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’. Bahram Meghdadi. Columbia University, 1969.

Summary:
Robert Graves’s publication of his own translation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat in November, 1967 triggered this study. Graves claims that Edward FitzGerald used spurious sources for his translation and that FitzGerald misinterpreted Khayyam’s basic philosophy.

In search of Omar Khayyam

In search of Omar Khayyam. Ali Dashti. Translated from the Persian by L.P. Elwell-Sutton. London, Allen & Unwin, 1971. ISBN: 0048910420 (Persian studies monographs; 1). Reprinted by Routledge, 2011.

Contents

Introduction.
Note on Transliteration.
Preface to the Persian Second Edition.
Part 1: In Search of Khayyam
1. Khayyam as Poet
2. Khayyam as Seen by his Contemporaries
3. Meanness or Common Sense?
4. Hero or Martyr?
5. A Dispute with a Prince
6. Khayyam from his own Writings
7. Khayyam and Sufism
8. Khayyam and Isma’ilism
Part 2: In Search of the Quatrains
1. The Key Quatrains
2. The Axis of Life and Death
3. Khayyam’s Literary Style
4. Khayyam and his Imitators
5. Khayyam’s Wine-Poetry
6. Khayyam as Seen by the West
7. The Selected Quatrains
8. Some Khayyam-like Quatrains
Part 3: Random Thoughts
1. ‘Whence we have come, and whither do we go?’
2. ‘If it was bad, whose was the fault but His?’
3. ‘A tiny gnat appears – and disappears’
4. ‘The Withered Tulip Never Blooms Again’
5. ‘Whether this Breath I take will be My Last.’
Appendix I: Biographical Notes.
Appendix II: Glossary of Technical Terms.
Bibliography.
Index.

Translation or travesty?

Translation or travesty? an enquiry into Robert Graves’s version of some Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. John Charles Edward Bowen. Abingdon, Abbey Press (Berks), 1973. Freshet library, no. 2. IX, 43 p. ISBN: 0900012323.

Summary:
Bowen discusses whether Edward FitzGerald’s (1859) or Robert Graves’s (1967) version of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat is a more accurate translation; it explains the scope of the great Islamic philosophy of Sufism, and questions whether a mystical interpretation of the quatrains accords with Khayyam’s known scepticism; and it quotes conclusive evidence that Robert Graves’s version of the Rubaiyat, so far from having been translated from a manuscript which has lain bidden in the Hindu Kush for the past 800 years, is based on the text of a book published in London in 1899.

The Spiritual States (Ahwal) in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The Spiritual States (Ahwal) in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Sri Wulan and Devi Pratiwy.
KnE Social Sciences, 3 (2018) nr. 4,pp. 864-877.

Summary

The Rubaiyat is the exposition of Khayyam’s contemplation of life and Divinity, which is highly appreciated, and of great importance in the world of literature and a stepping progress to spirituality. Concerning the contemplation of Divine existence, the poet has experienced spiritual states. These spiritual states or experiences are called Ahwal in the concept of Sufism. The Ahwal are the main concern of this study. This concept is referred to the classification of Ahwal given by Qushayri (1966). There are six forms of Ahwal expressed by Omar Khayyam in the Rubaiyat. They are Wajd `Ecstacy’, Dzawq `Taste’, Fana `Exctincion’, Baqa `Permanency’, `Ishq `Divine Love’, and Sukr’ `Intoxication’. Then, it is found that the six spiritual states, Ahwal, are undergone by Omar Khayam and they are reflected through his Rubaiyat.

Sufi symbolism in Tolib Shakhidi’s televised ballet The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Sufi symbolism in Tolib Shakhidi’s televised ballet The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Marina N. Drozhzhina, Sitora D. Davlatova
Music Scholarship, 2018, Nr. 1, pp. 66-73

Summary

In the article devoted to one of the most well-known compositions by the Tajik composer Tolib Shakhidi the means of reflection of Sufi symbolism in the synthetic genre of the televised ballet are researched. Stemming from the essential parameters of the symbol (taking into account the formed traditions of study of this category), the authors propose their own perspective of the issue. The role of the symbol is shown in expounding by artistic means of the Sufi path of perfection (Tarikat) as a bridge between the two worlds. The orientation on the multilevel complex of sets (musical, scenographic, choreographical, scenic or poetical) and the specificity of the chief Sufi principle of zohirbotin (the inner vs. the outer) made it possible to carry out the analysis of the indicated phenomenon on the basis of a differentiated approach toward symbol.

The wine of wisdom. The life, poetry and philosophy of Omar Khayyam

The wine of wisdom. The life, poetry and philosophy of Omar Khayyam. Mehdi Aminrazavi. Oxford, Oneworld Publishing, 2005. 396 p. ISBN: 1-85168-355-0.

Summary:
The intoxicating message of Khayyam’s famous Ruba‘iyyat created an image of exotic Orientalism in the West but, as author Mehdi Aminrazavi reveals, Khayyam’s achievements went far beyond the intoxicating message within these verses. Philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and mystic – his many different identities are examined here in detail, creating a coherent picture of this complex and often misunderstood figure.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Khayyam’s life and works
2. Reconstructing a tarnished image: Omar Khayyam according to his contemporaries and biographers
3. Khayyam within the intellectual context of his time
4. The Ruba’iyyat
5. Khayyam and sufism
6. Khayyam’s philosophical thought
7. Khayyam the scientist
8. Khayyam in the west
Epilogue
Appendix A: Translations of the philosophical treatises
Appendix B: The Ruba’iyyat – Edward FitzGerald’s translation
Appendix C: Arabic poems of Omar Khayyam
Notes
Bibliography
Index

A target-oriented approach to two different English translations of Omar Khayyam’s quatrains

A target-oriented approach to two different English translations of Omar Khayyam’s quatrains. Sayyed Mohammad Karimi Behbahani. Pune, University of Pune, 2008.

Summary

The present study is an attempt to read and compare two different English translations of Omar Khayyam’s Quatrains in the light of a Target-oriented Approach. The two selected translations are Edward Fitzgerald’s Translation and Peter Avery & John Heath- Stubbs’ Translation. The major intention beyond this research is to conduct a unified and comprehensive study of the mentioned translations based on Gideon Toury’s DTS (Descriptive Translation Studies). This research is composed in five chapters, an Introduction and an Appendix, a brief sketch of each is to be presented: In the Introduction, the researcher provides justifications for research, particularly Target- Oriented research, in Translation Studies. The emerging need for interdisciplinary studies in the English departments is also emphasized. The objectives and the methodology of the research are provided in the Introduction.