The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain XLVIII

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain XLVIII

While the main point of the quatrain doesn’t change, FitzGerald has varied the tone and focus of that message in the second and fifth editions.

First Edition: Quatrain XLVIII

While the Rose blows along the River Brink,

With old Khayyam the Ruby Vintage drink:

And when the Angel with his darker Draught

Draws up to Thee—take that, and do not shrink.

Second Edition: Quatrain XLVI

So when at last the Angel of the drink

Of Darkness finds you by the river-brink,

And, proffering his Cup, invites your Soul

Forth to your Lips to quaff it—do not shrink.

Fifth Edition: Quatrain XLIII

So when that Angel of the darker Drink

At last shall find you by the river-brink,

And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul

Forth to your Lips to quaff—you shall not shrink.

I think the point made by all three versions is fairly clear. At some point, we will die and when that time comes, we should accept it gracefully and courageously. What has changed though, at least so it seems to me, is the tone of the quatrain as it goes through the various versions.

In the first version, the first two lines portray an almost idyllic if not Edenic scene with a river and wine and friendship and flowers. The Garden of Paradise is frequently described in this way in Moslem writings.

“While the Rose blows along the River Brink,

With old Khayyam the Ruby Vintage drink:”

But this idyllic scene is suddenly and without warning rudely interrupted in lines three and four--:

“And when the Angel with his darker Draught

Draws up to Thee—take that, and do not shrink.”

--and the tone immediately shifts to a far darker mood with “the Angel and his darker Draught” and the interjection of Death. Moreover, the poet narrator employs a very harsh, or at least, commanding tone—we are ordered to “take that [darker Draught], and do not shrink.”

Fitzgerald made a number of changes in the Second Edition, though I think the message is still the same—death will come. The idyllic situation found the in first two lines of the first edition has almost completely disappeared in the second edition. What is left is simply a location—the river-brink. The wine, the flowers, and the companionship have disappeared. We just happen to be by a river when the Angel appears. We are now not shown what is lost by death. Perhaps FitzGerald felt the contrast to be too threatening or depressing.

The depiction of the drink has also changed from a “darker Draught” to “the drink of Darkness.” The drink is not just darker but it is the drink of Darkness, a much less euphemistic reference to death. The poet also suggests something definitely not in the First Edition. The appearance of the Angel was sudden and unexpected in the First Edition, but that changes in the Second Edition. The Angel now finds us “at last,” which suggests that we have been expecting this and perhaps even possibly looking forward to it, or at least somewhat relieved that the Angel has finally appeared.

“So when at last the Angel of the drink

Of Darkness finds you by the river-brink,”

There is also a change in tone in the three and fourth lines. Where in the first version we are ordered to take it, we now see the Angel offering his Cup and inviting us to take it. It is not simply given to us, but it is offered and we are invited to take it. We seem to have a choice here, one that we didn’t have in the first version. But, again, we are told that we should accept our fate and not draw back from it.

"And, proffering his Cup, invites your Soul

Forth to your Lips to quaff it—do not shrink."

The Fifth Edition is very close to the Second as FitzGerald kept most of the changes he made then. However, there are two changes worth noting. FitzGerald possibly felt that the “Drink of Darkness” was too harsh or threatening, for he returned to the phrasing of the First Edition when he changed it to “the darker Drink.”

Fifth Edition: Quatrain XLIII

So when that Angel of the darker Drink

At last shall find you by the river-brink,

And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul

Forth to your Lips to quaff—you shall not shrink.

The second change occurred in the last two lines. Instead of ending with “do not shrink,” a plea? or perhaps an order, the poet now tells us “you shall not shrink,” which is clearly closer to a command, much closer in tone now to the First Edition.

The versions are an interesting interplay of two changes in tone that actually go in opposite directions through the editions. The first is the reference to the drink, from a relatively nonthreatening darker drink to the Drink of Darkness and then a return to the gentler darker drink. The second occurs in the last line, from the command to "take it, and do not shrink" to the offering of the drink and the invitation (invitations can be refused) in the second to the invitation again in the fifth edition, but the admonition that you shall not shrink from taking it--again almost an order, in spite of the invitation.

It is unfortunate that we do not have any notes or commentaries by FitzGerald regarding the changes he made over the years. I think those would have given us considerable insight into changes in FitzGerald's own thinking. The changes in his poetry may reflect changes in him, but the rationale is not easily seen, at least by me. Others may be more perceptive.