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The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam in definitive form

Omar Khayyám (translated and edited by Edward FitzGerald, Edward Heron-Allen, E. H. Whinfield, J. B. Nicolas, and Robert Arnot)

A scholarly edition of Khayyám's quatrains gathering Persian sources and translations, used for close study of his poetry.

This edition compiles Khayyám's own quatrains with scholarly translations, central to understanding his poetic legacy.

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Front cover of a book bound in dark red cloth, with a white library barcode label in the upper left reading UC Southern Regional Library Facility and G 000 083 540 5. No title is visible on this cover. — The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam in Definitive Form. Edited by Edward FitzGerald, Edward Heron-Allen, E. H. Whinfield, J. B. Nicolas, and Robert Arnot.

About this source

What it is

This is a book edition of Omar Khayyám's quatrains, prepared with Persian source texts and English translations. It involved several translators and editors, including Edward FitzGerald, Edward Heron-Allen, E. H. Whinfield, J. B. Nicolas and Robert Arnot.

Why it matters

Khayyám's quatrains, often called the Rubáiyát, became famous worldwide largely through English translations like this one. This edition shows how later scholars tried to present a 'definitive' version by comparing different manuscripts and translations, revealing how much uncertainty surrounds the original text.

Look closer

Why might scholars need several translators to agree on a 'definitive' version of a poem?
What does the plain library cover tell you about how this book was used, compared to how it looks?
What might be lost or changed when a poem is translated from Persian into English?

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.