Archives

The exquisite amateur. FitzGerald, the Rubáiyát, and queer dilettantism

The exquisite amateur. FitzGerald, the Rubáiyát, and queer dilettantism. Benjamin Hudson
Victorian Poetry 54 (2016) 2 (Summer), pp. 155-177.

Though both popular and critical appraisals of FitzGerald’s translation have pointed out his, or the poem’s, amateurism, no inquiry has considered how the text itself cultivates its own antiprofessional stance—how it, in other words, invites readers to “Make Game” of life. Although this point may seem to be self-evident in a poem dedicated to inebriate pleasure, it is nonetheless worth considering, and clearly establishing, in order to identify how this amateurism, complicates erotic readings of the poem while enriching current critiques of its antiteleological temporality and agnosticism.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Muslim secularism

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Muslim secularism. Juan Cole
Studies in People’s History 3 (2016) 2, pp. 138-150.

The fact that quatrains known as Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam were not really composed by the twelfth century astronomer of that name, but composed by various hands and made into collections later, is widely accepted. This paper examines under what political and social atmosphere in later times, the collections began to be compiled, and what elements of scepticism, irreligion, mysticism and even rationalism entered into them. It is argued that the collections retained their popularity and freely circulated wherever Persian was cultivated down to modern times.

Obligation Versus Free Will in Khayyam’s Poetry. A Linguistic and Verbal Art Theoretic Account

Obligation Versus Free Will in Khayyam’s Poetry. A Linguistic and Verbal Art Theoretic Account. Maryam Bordbar; Ferdows Aghagolzadeh.
Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7 (2016) 6, pp. 216–220.

Although Khayyam is one of the Persian poets whose school of thought and poems are studied the most, there is hardly a research in which his intellectual system is explained and made clear via a linguistic framework. In this paper one of the most debatable matters which is “Obligation” versus “Free Will” is dealt with by using Hasan’s (1989) linguistics and verbal art model. This model provides touchstones for clarifying the concepts which are foregrounded by the poet. In this study other than qualitative analysis of 33 Khayyam’s quatrains which are selected based on their contents they convey, quantitative analysis method of frequency calculation is used as well. The results approve this hypothesis that the notion of “obligation” is foregrounded by linguistic tools against “Free will” as background.

Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát

Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát. Sylvia Yount.
American Art, 29 (2015), 2, pp. 112–118.

The distinctive work and career of Elihu Vedder have proven difficult to categorize in the history of American art. Part academic naturalist, part progressive symbolist, the artist is best remembered for his allegorical and literary paintings. Yet a more contextual examination of Vedder’s production challenges the standard view of him as a visionary out of step with the art world of his time and unconcerned with the broader cultural reach of his work.

Jack Kerouac’s Rubaiyat: The Influence of Omar Khayyam

Jack Kerouac’s Rubaiyat: The Influence of Omar Khayyam. Michael Skau.
The Journal of Popular Culture, 48 (2015), 3, pp. 487–506.

Almost all of the Kerouac studies have ignored the influence of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát in his life and work. The Rubáiyát provides significant similarities to Kerouac’s dualistic viewpoint: “the extremes of innocent indulgence of the beautiful variety of life and bitter, or even perverse, acceptance of the desolation of mortal existence”. The author, expert in ‘Beat poetry’ (Corso, Ferlinghetti, Burroughs, Ginsberg) points to numerous allusions to and echoes from Khayyám’s poetry, not only in On the road but in his other novels, essays and letters as well.

Love and Death in Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Love and Death in Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Akela Reason.
American Art, 29 (2015), 2, pp. 119–125.

Spiritual uncertainty figured in many of Elihu Vedder’s works. The artist acknowledged his fascination with this theme, writing in his autobiography, The Digressions of V., “it delights me to tamper and potter with the unknowable, and I have a strong tendency to see in things more than meets the eye.” Especially preoccupied by the mystery of death, Vedder returned to the subject again and again. Death comes in many forms in Vedder’s art—from “all-devouring” sphinxes presiding over desert wastes to the fratricidal conflict of the Old Testament, and devastating medieval plagues.

Cosmic poetry of Omar Khayyam and its artistic exposition using batik techniques

Cosmic poetry of Omar Khayyam and its artistic exposition using batik techniques. Victoria Nikulina; Muhammad Rashid Kamal Ansari
Mystic Thoughts – Research Journal of Sufism and Peace, 1 (2015) 1, pp. 61–94.

This study compares seven translations of Omar Khayyam, five in English, one in Urdu and one in Russian. These translations are free translations from the Persian. Translators in most cases have translated giving a flavor of their own views about the poetry of Omar Khayyam. So, all the translations appear different while translating the same quatrain. Eight quatrains of Omar Khayyam which this study terms as cosmic are selected and their translations are compared. Finally, eight paintings created by one of the authors Victoria Nikulina are introduced which illustrate the cosmic views of Omar Khayyam. These paintings utilize the mediums of Batik Art