Author Bio:
The author, Omar Khayyam, was alive in between the years 1048 and 1131. He was born in Nishapour, Iran. He was an astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher. He developed the Jalali Calendar, which is more accurate than those used in the west at this time.
Date/Context:
These poems were written sometime during Khayyam's lifetime, as there are no specific dates written. These poems help us understand what may have been happening during the timeperiod in which Khayyam lived.
Summary:
The book contains 1200 individual quatrains. This is a collection of Khayyam's works, which went unpublished for around 700 years. These are all quatrain poems with little to no relation to each other than references to different things such as wine, rule, or light/darkness.
Key Quotation:
"For 'Is' and 'Is-not' though with Rule and Line."
Your summary was accurate in how it correctly condenses the document into a short paragraph, however I think that you could have elaborated more and given examples for specific points that were included. Also, your key quotation didn't precisely give the reader an idea of what the main point of the document is, though I would agree that it is a prominent quote in the reading. Your date/context was excellent, considering you are not giving a large amount of information on the exact dates of when each poem is written. However, it would have been helpful to include the lifespan of Khayyam in the date/context section instead of only the author bio section.
ReplyDeleteThe Ruba'iyat is indicative of a high level of achievement in the arts and literature that characterized "Islam's Golden Age." Further, Khayyam epitomizes the learned, scientifically advanced society of this period. This series of poems is considered a cultural masterpiece and is revered world-wide. However, these poems have also been criticized and even banned by fundamentalists who argue that Khayyam violates key tenets of Islam (ex. prohibition against the consumption of alcohol.)
ReplyDeleteThe quatrain that characterizes this text:
"For let Philosopher and Doctor preach
Of what they will, and what they will not - each
Is but one Link in an eternal Chain
That none can slip, nor break, nor overreach"