The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Omar Elkhayyam E

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Omar Elkhayyam E. Fitzgerald Ahmed Rami

Outline: Ø Who is Omar Khayyam? Ø About the original version. Ø Edward Fitzgerald and the English version. Ø Ahmed Rami and the Arabic version. Ø Similarities and differences. Ø Reception theory.

Omar Khayyam o He is Ghiyath al-Din Abu al-Fath: Omar Ibrahim al-Khayam Nishapuri. ( ﻏﻴﺎﺙ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﺃﺒﻮ ﺍﻟﻔﺘﺢ )ﻋﻤﺮ ﺇﺑﺮﺍﻫﻴﻢ ﺧﻴﺎﻡ ﻧﻴﺸﺎﺑﻮﺭﻱ o He was a Persian polymath, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. o He also wrote treatises on: mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, and Islamic theology.

Omar Khayyam o He is best known for his: Rubaiyat poetry.

About Rubaiyat Definition of “rubai”: v(Persian term) which is a poetry style. v. It is used to describe the Persian quatrain (a stanza or poem of four lines). v. The plural form, rubayiat, is used to describe a collection of such quatrains.

About Khayyam`s Rubaiyat The Rubaiyat presents the deep feelings of the poet on the following topics: § § Life: enjoy your days Death (the passage of time) Love Religion

Versions of translations We will look at: • • Title. The author. Main ideas. Style of each.

The English version The title: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is the title that Edward Fitzgerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian by Omar Khayyam.

The English version The author: Edward Fitzgerald o He is an English poet and writer. o He is best known as the poet of the first and the most famous translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

The English version The author: Edward Fitzgerald o He is a Victorian poet. o He lived the chaos resulted from the publication of Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species.

The English version What is the Rubaiyat about? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the poem: “reveal a man of deep thought, troubled by the questions of the nature of reality and the eternal, the impermanence and uncertainty of life, and man’s relationship to God. ”

The English version Main ideas (themes): § § Carpe Diem (Seize the day). Wine as the water of life. Fate “Moving Finger”. Ineluctable (inevitable) death.

The English version Style: It can be discussed with regard to the following levels: § Phonological Level § Lexical Level § Semantic Level § Syntactic Level

Phonological level Poem format: Quatrain (four- line stanza) Meter: Iambic pentameter Rhyme scheme: a-a-b-a OR a-a-a-a

Phonological level Alliteration: the use of several words together that begin with the same sound or letter in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry. (Longman Dictionary)

Phonological level Alliteration: • A phonetic stylistics device. • It aims at imparting a melodic effect to an utterance. • The essence lies in the repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds.

Phonological level Alliteration: ü from the field (stanza 1) ü The phantom of false (stanza 2) ü As the cock crew (stanza 3) ü Soul to solitude (stanza 4)

Phonological level Assonance: • A partial or half rhyme much used in poetic language as an aspect of sound patterning and cohesion. • It is the repetition of the vowel sound.

Phonological level Assonance: üDrives Night … And strikes üOf false morning (stanza 1) üPuts out, … from the ground üHigh-…Wine! Wine (stanza 4) 2) (stanza 6)

Lexical level o The successful choice of words. o Different words giving the same meaning (echoing), for example: Wake … sun Stars … night

Semantic level o The semantic level involves recognition of the stylistic devices in a text. o Here, the main employed devices are metaphors, symbols, and other figures of speech. o All related to the main themes of the poem.

Semantic level Metaphor: “shaft of light” Symbolism: The rose

Syntactic level o It aims at logical emphasis; an emphasis necessary to fix the attention of the reader on the key words of the utterance.

Syntactic level • Repetition of some verbs like (knows), (cried ) • Repetition of some articles (the/a) • Repetition of active voice (not passive)

Syntactic level • Repetition of some expressions like (the tavern, wine, rose) and time references. • Heavy use of noun phrased (the sun, the stars, the field, the rose. . )

The Arabic Version The title: Rubaiyat al- Khayyam ﺭﺑﺎﻋﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺎﻡ The author: Ahmed Rami

The Arabic Version o He is an Egyptian poet, songwriter and translator. o He is best known for writing lyrics for the famous Egyptian singers Umm Kalthoum and Mohammed Abdel Wahab.

The Arabic Version o His famous works of translation are those of Shakespeare`s plays and of Omar Khayyam`s rubaiyat. o He was named “ poet of the youth” for his considerable contributions to the Arabic song.

The Arabic Version o Ahmed Rami started his translation of the Rubaiyat in 1932. o This was a year after he went to Paris to study Persian. o His brother`s death, Mahmoud Rami, in Sudan affected his translation very much. (the feeling of pain and sorrow)

The Arabic Version The main ideas (themes) • Seize the day. • Working for the afterlife. • Hope in God`s mercy. • Death is unavoidable.

The Arabic Version Style: The same levels: § § Phonological Level Lexical Level Semantic Level Syntactic Level

Phonological level Poem format: Quatrain (four- line stanza) Meter: Iambic pentameter Rhyme scheme: a-a-b-a

Lexical level o The successful choice of words. o The shadows of the words (the religious meanings and feelings among the chosen words). o Echoing: ﺻﻮﺗﺎ. . . ﺳﻤﻌﺖ

Syntactic level • Repetition of some verbs like ( )ﺍﻏﻨﻢ , (- ﺣﺮﺕ )ﻳﺤﺎﺭ • Repetition of words like ( ﻗﺪ - ﻻ – ﻳﺎ – ﻣﺎ ) • Repetition of imperative form ( – ﺍﻏﻨﻢ – ﻫﺒﻮﺍ )ﻓﺎﻣﺶ

Syntactic level • Repetition of some expressions like ( ﻛﺄﺲ ، ﺭﺣﻤﺘﻚ ، ﺍﻟﻘﻠﺐ ، )ﺍﻟﺴﺤﺮ and time references ( ﻣﺎﺿﻲ ، ) ﺍﻟﺤﺎﺿﺮ

Similarities and differences Both the English and the Arabic versions have the same: Ø Both are lyrical poems. Ø Form (poetic style - quatrains) Ø Rhyme scheme. Ø Style with its four levels (similar use) Ø Themes about enjoying our lives, life and death, fate and religion.

Similarities and differences The English and the Arabic versions are different in their: understanding of themes.

Reception theory • Both versions (Arabic and English) are well- received. • The strongest evidence for that is their popularity all over the world.

Reception theory English version: o Some critics maintain that the poetic quality of Fitz. Gerald's finished product exceeded that of Khayyám's original quatrains.

Reception theory o Charles Eliot Norton wrote that the Rubáiyát : “is the work of a poet inspired by the work of a poet; not a copy, but a reproduction, not a translation, but the redelivery of a poetic inspiration. ”

Reception theory o T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Mark Twain and most of the Victorian writers read the translation and praised it.

Reception theory o It was highly appreciated for the strength of rhythmical structure, the force of expression, musical modulation, and its mastery of language.

Reception theory Arabic version: It is said to be the best and the most famous translation for its creative style, successful word choice and beautiful imagery.

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