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FitzGerald or Fitz-Omar: Ideological Reconsideration of the English Translation of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat

FitzGerald or Fitz-Omar: Ideological Reconsideration of the English Translation of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Shilan Shafiei.
English Language and Literature Studies, 2 (2012) 1 (March), pp. 128-140.

The present study attempted to examine whether Edward Fitzgerald’s English translation of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat is effective in doing justice to the true philosophical/ideological image of Khayyam and his poems through investigating the extent of ideological manipulation applied by Fitzgerald in his translation, and through referring to the fundamental tenets of Post-colonialism. For this purpose, the content of all the quatrains in the first edition of the translation of Rubaiyat by Fitzgerald with their corresponding Persian equivalents, were analyzed.

The translation of ‘Umar Khayyám’s poetry into Georgian – a touchstone of translators

The translation of ‘Umar Khayyám’s poetry into Georgian – a touchstone of translators. T. Shurgaia.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 189-201.

Shurgaia draws attention to the translation history of the quatrains into Georgian. Georgian historian of Persian literature, Justine Abuladze published the first literal translation of Khayyám’s poetry in 1924, and this translation was followed by a series of translations up to the 21st century.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Persia’s Poet-Scientist

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Persia’s Poet-Scientist. Rasoul Sorkhabi.
The World and I (2012) 1 (January)

December 4, 2011 marked the 880th anniversary of the death of one of the best known Oriental poets in the world: Omar Khayyam. Immortalized by its translation into English verse by Edward FitzGerald, “The Rubâiyât of Omar Khayyam,” has created a huge following in the West. Initially overlooked, the subsequent successes of FitzGerald’s and other translations can be said to have introduced new aspects to our understanding of poetry.

Quatrains of ‘Umar Khayyám in Turkish, and Turkish quatrains

Quatrains of ‘Umar Khayyám in Turkish, and Turkish quatrains. S. Sötemann.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 97-104

Sötemann explains that while Ottoman poets were deeply influenced by Persian poetry, they avoided composing quatrains, preferring other literary forms. Yahya Kemal Beyatlı (1884-1958) was an exception, as he tried to master all the forms and genres of Ottoman poetry. In his efforts, Beyatlı translated Khayyám and introduced his poetry to Turkish people.

The Magic Lantern of Omar Khayyám

The Magic Lantern of Omar Khayyám. Stephen R. Wilk.
Optics & Photonics News (2012), 1, pp. 16-17

Optical projection techniques are mentioned in several translations of a quatrain from the poem “The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.” What is the true meaning of Khayyám’s metaphor of reality as a shadow show?

Singing the quatrains. Omar Khayyám and Umm Kulthúm

Singing the quatrains. Omar Khayyám and Umm Kulthúm. Jan Just Witkam.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 85-95.

Witkam examines in this chapter the translations of the Egyptian poet Ahmad Muhammad Rámí (1892-1981) and how his translations were sung by the famous singers Umm Kulthum (c. 1904-1975) and Muhammad ‘Abd al-Vahháb (1907-1991)

The reception of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of ‘Umar Khayyám by the Victorians

The reception of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of ‘Umar Khayyám by the Victorians. Esmail Zare-Behtash.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 203–214.

Behtash gives an overview of Khayyám’s reception during the Victorian period in England, offering the reasons why the Rubáiyát became an archetypal Victorian poem, having a dramatic form, mysticism, Epicureanism, melancholy, loss of faith, anxiety about the future, and unfamiliar exoticism.