The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain LIV

This quatrain relates back to the previous quatrain with its reference to predestination. There's also a hint of astrology here.


First Edition: Quatrain LIV

I tell Thee this--When, starting from the Goal,
Over the shoulders of the flaming Foal
Of Heav'n and Parwin and Mushtara they flung,
In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.



Second Edition: LXXXI

I tell you this--When, started from the Goal,
Over the flaming shoulders of the Foal
Of Heav'n Parwin and Mushtari they flung,
In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.



Fifth Edition: LXXV

I tell you this--When, started from the Goal,
Over the flaming shoulders of the Foal
Of Heav'n Parwin and Mushtari they flung,
In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.


FitzGerald made only minor changes between the First and the Second Editions, and the Fifth Edition is identical to the Second. The "Thee" in the first version becomes "you" in the later versions, a change which he has consistently made in previous editions as he moved from a poetical language to more prosaic and contemporary usages. A second change is the replacement of the present tense "starting" with the past tense "started." It is now something that happened in the past, at his birth, but ironically, the initial point is the Goal, which is the end or object or destination of a movement. It almost appears as though he is suggesting that his end determines his beginning.

FitzGerald also moved "flaming" in the second line so that in the second and later editions, it modified "shoulders" instead of "Foal." Now, instead of the entire Foal being in flames, only its shoulders are. I'm not sure why he made this change. Perhaps he felt that "flaming shoulders" sounded better than "flaming Foal"; having two words in sequence both beginning with "f" didn't sound right to him.

In the second edition, FitzGerald dropped the "and" after "Heav'n." I suspect this was to clarify the meaning because the "and" after "Heav'n" suggested that there was a series which included "Heav'n and Parwin and Mushtara" which wasn't what he intended. "Heav'n" is part of the phrase "Foal of Heav'n" while "Parwin" and "Mushtara" were flung into his predestined plot. Removing the "and" makes it clear that the series included only "Parwin" and "Mushtara." I think it would have been even clearer if he had placed a comma after "Heav'n." The third line would then have read" Of Heav'n, Parwin and Mushtari they flung".

The final change involved the spelling of "Mushtara." The final "a" was changed to "i". It seems as though FitzGerald's source spelled it "Mushtara" while the more accepted spelling is "Mushtari." He later changed it when it was pointed out to him.

Three astronomical terms are included in this quatrain. The "Foal of Heav'n" is a reference to the small constellation Equuleus or as it is more commonly known today--Equus. "Mushtari" is Arabic for the planet Jupiter, while Parwin refers to the Pleiades. The reference to "predestined plot of Soul and Dust" brings in, to me anyway, an astrological element, in which the stars control our destiny. In astrology, of course, one's chart is computed by determining the day, hour, and minute of birth (if possible) and then consulting the charts to see which planets and constellations were prominent at that time. This configuration of heavenly bodies then has an influence on all aspects of one's life, including personality and future events.

I wonder if an astrologer would see something significant in the references to "the Foal of Heav'n," "Parwin," and "Mushtari."

My interpretation of this quatrain is that Jupiter, the Pleiades, and Equus were possibly present at his birth and that these three are significant in determining his personality and life in some way.