Ruba'iyat of Hakim ‘Umar Khayyam

Abstract

It is often said, quite appropriately, that Khayyām was the poet of fate. It would be a mistake, however, to call him a fatalist, at least according to our common understanding of this word. Scholars seeking to categorize his Rubāʿīyāt can themselves be grouped into two major schools of thought. The first claims that he was highly influenced by Islamic mysticism, particularly Sufism, and that his references to wine and lovers are allegorical representations of mystical wine and divine love. A second school of thought rejects this view, claiming that Khayyām's references to wine and lovers are very literal and sensual.

About the Author

Bahman Solati is a visiting scholar in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD in Persian literature and comparative studies from the University of Exeter. His current research focuses on the impact of Sufism on post-Islamic Persian literature and the influence of Hafiz on the fifteenth-century classical Persian poet Jami. He is the author of The Reception of Hafiz (Leiden University Press, 2013) and The Wine Goblet of Hafiz (forthcoming).