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Secondary sourceBook1878

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Edward FitzGerald · 1878

Edward FitzGerald's 1878 English edition of the Persian quatrains attributed to Khayyam, which made him famous worldwide.

This later English translation of poems attributed to Khayyám shaped his worldwide fame as a poet.

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Front cover of a green cloth book titled Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia, with gold lettering, a gold floral emblem, black decorative arch border, and publisher Houghton, Osgood & Co. at the bottom.
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia, trans. Edward FitzGerald, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878. Houghton Library, Harvard University.

About this source

What it is

This is the cover of an American edition (1878) of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia, Edward FitzGerald's English translation of short Persian poems (rubāʿiyāt) attributed to Omar Khayyám. The book is held in the Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Why it matters

FitzGerald's translation, first published in 1859, was ignored at first but later became hugely popular, especially admired by the Pre-Raphaelites. It created the image most people worldwide have of Khayyám: a poet questioning fate and urging people to enjoy life. Scholars still debate which quatrains are genuinely his.

Look closer

  • Why might a translation, rather than the original Persian, be what made Khayyám famous outside Iran?
  • What does the decorative cover suggest about how the book was marketed to English-speaking readers?
  • What might get lost or changed when poetry is translated and popularised centuries later?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Omar Khayyam on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (First Edition)

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Painted manuscript page in Persian miniature style: a seated bearded ruler in a crown gestures toward a woman in green kneeling on a rug, while a small attendant in a blue robe stands at a doorway on the left. Persian text fills the bottom panel.Book

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Manuscript page in Persian nastaliq script with an ornate gold-and-blue illuminated Bismillah heading at top, red-ruled borders, a marginal note in gold, and a round seal stamp in the margin on the right. Adjacent page edge visible at left.Book

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