PROLOGUE
Omar Kahyyam was primarily a mathematician and an astronomer. He was an extremely intelligent individual who wrote many theories in physics and metaphysics. He is also attributed with the reformation of the Persian calender with seven other great intellects to create a calender more accurate than the Gregorian calender. Ironically he is known to the world today for his translated collection of lyrical quatrains called the Rubaiyat. His life and works are somewhat of a mystery because he was rather unpopular until after his death. Yet the work he is most known and beloved for is considered to have been a gross mistranslation of both character and content.
This paper will be divided into six sections. The first is the prologue. The prologue was used to introduce Omar to the reader. Next there will be a brief biography of his life and major influences of his work. Following this will be a section on his magnum opus and only work, The Rubaiyat. This will include literary criticism of his famous work. After this there will be a brief conclusion to sum up the overall paper followed by an epilogue with my opinion on Khayyam. Finally in my bibliography the reader will see my sources for research and my opinion on those books.
I. OMAR KHAYYAM, THE ENIGMA
In the history of world literature Omar Khayyam is an enigma. No poet of any time period has received greater recognition and fame through such a enormous misreading of his work. Known today world wide, Khayyam’s works would undoubtable be unheard of in modern day literature in they were not translated by English writer Edward FitzGerald. The paradox is that FitzGerald misinterpreted both Khayyam and his works in his translation to start an unending conflict1.
FitzGerald added to his editions of the Rubaiyat a biographical sketch entitled “Omar Khayyam: The Astronomer Poet of Persia.” In this he wrote his opinion that Khayyam was an anti-religious materialist who believed life’s only meaning was to be found in wine, song, and worldly pleasures:
Having failed (however mistakenly) of finding any Providence but Destiny, and any world but this, he set about making the most of it; preferring rather to soothe the soul through the senses into acquiescence with things as he saw them, than to perplex it with vain disquietude after what they might be.... He takes a humorous or perverse pleasure in exalting the gratification of sense above that of intellect, in which he must have taken great delight, although it failed to answer the questions in which he, in common with all men, was most vitally interested2.
Livingston, John W., and Al-Jabarti. "The Rise of Shaykh al-Balad 'Ali Bey al-Kabir: A Study in
the observation of the religions, and the research on the social customs he wrote this book. This book not only was his first philosophical and political writing, but also was his representative thought. From this book, his writing from three major
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “Kubla Khan.” Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Addison-Wesley. 2002.
The Norton Anthology World Literature Volume 2: 1650 to the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. Print
... of quenching the thirst for knowledge. He writes, “Every good drinker, every good and gouty one, if he is thirsty, let him come to this barrel of mine” (395). In the end, Rabelais suggests that, like the comical giants of his stories, we are characterized by the desire to know, sometimes beyond our ability to understand.
How can someone who lived hundreds of years ago have such a lasting impact on individuals throughout history? Today, Rumi’s influence can be seen throughout humanity. Even though he has been deceased for more than eight hundred years, he is the most widely read poet. Rumi’s poetry reflects the spiritual, political, and social aspects of his time as well as these same characteristics in modern society. With two of his poems, entitled “Those Who Don’t Feel This Love” and “One Who Does What the Friend Wants Done,” Rumi successfully demonstrates his keen cognizance of these aspects in mankind. His beliefs and dispositions, depicted in his work, emulate humanity as a whole, making it relevant in our world today.
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
From this example, he concluded “a man without the feeling of mercy is not a man; a man without the feeling of deference and complaisance is not a man, and a man without the feeling of right and wrong is not a man. The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of the feeling of love; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and complaisance is the beginning of wisdom. M...
Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Peter Simon. 3rd. ed. Vol. B. New York and London:
When Kubla Khan was first published in 1816, contemporary reviewers noted the poem’s fragmentary nature and spoke of its nonsensical style, imagery, and content. The poem was, in a sense, viewed as not a “wholly meaningful poem, but only meaningless music.” More recent studies by scholar E. S. Shaffer asserted that Coleridge intended for Kubla Khan to be a part of his project to create “a new kind of epic poem” that was to be called The Fall of Jerusalem. Shaffer believes that Coleridge was unable to complete this epic project, and consequently, left Kubla Khan as “an epic fragment” that has bred a myth of fragmentation that has followed the poem since its initial publi...
Al Ghazali a significant person in Islam has helped shape Islam to be what it is today - a living religious tradition for the lives of its adherents. His contribution to Islam though his theories, knowledge and works have left a positive impact upon the Islamic world that continues into the present. An everlasting impact upon the faith, Muslims and the expansion of Islam to be one of the most popular religious traditions in the present world for the lives of its adherents is seen as Al Ghazali’s
...re humorous form of satire within his novel, Kabir’s satiric works take on a more serious note. While Kabir was illiterate and therefore unable to compose his oral works, his work was still able to be recorded and spread throughout India, making him one of the most popular and quoted poet in India for the last thousand years. While Kabir also had many other types of works, it was his satire that allowed him to deliver his opinion on religion and the society he lived in. According to the Norton Anthology of World Literature, “He [Kabir] is likely to have been persecuted equally by orthodox Hindus, conservative Muslims, and political authorities for his outspoken criticism of society and organized religion.” Kabir had a strong opinion against organized religion and the ascription of human characteristics to God that took away from the purity of God in Kabir’s eyes.
There are a myriad of critical theory lenses that can be applied and utilized to closely observe pieces of literature. One of these theories is John Keats’s Negative Capability theory which consists of an idea of “…when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason…” (Keats 968). Ultimately, this signifies that, in poetry, the emphasis be placed on the significance of inquisitiveness and the asking of questions of the life and scenery around one’s self rather than employing importance on strongly searching for answers. This theory can be applied to a multitude of works, but for these sakes and purposes what will be critiqued is Samuel Coleridge’s Kubla Khan. Keats’s personal opinion involving this is that “…Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine verisimilitude caught from the Penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half knowledge” (Keats, 968). This elevated language is stating plainly that Keats does not believe that Coleridge exemplifies his theory in his works, and that Coleridge is always reaching for the full truth and never content with the unknown. Interestingly enough, this is not exactly true. Coleridge creatively does embody this theory, even if it does contains slight gaps. Though this work does occasionally disembody Negative Capability, through his content matter in Kubla Khan, Coleridge ultimately displays this theory through the opportunity for his readers to pursue the concept, as well as cultivating this theory a step further past Keats’s intents and purposes.
Ibn al Haytham was a Muslim innovator born in 965 in Basra. He is also known as Alhazen and The First Scientist. In his time, Alhazen was able to invent the first pinhole camera and a camera obscura. Before Alhazen, scientists believed that they did not have to scientifically prove their findings, however, he knew better. Every experiment or hypothesis Alhazen came up with, he submitted it to a physical test and/or proof using mathematic equations. (“Arab Inventors”)