This quatrain is linked to the previous quatrain in which the narrator eavesdrops on the Potter's creations as they comment in the Potter's absence. The Potter, to me, suggests the Creator.
Second Edition: Quatrain XC
And once again there gathered a scarce heard
Whisper among them; as it were, the stirr'd
Ashes of some all but extinguished Tongue,
Which mine ear kindled into living Word.
According to another Rubaiyat collection that I have, the Fifth Edition version of this quatrain is LXXXIII. However, I don't see the relationship between XC and LXXXIII. It seems to me, therefore, that this is one of the quatrains that FitzGerald added in the Second Edition but had removed by the time the Fifth Edition was published. I can see why, for this quatrain really doesn't say much. Although one might expect the following quatrain to tell us what that living Word might be, the first line of the following quatrain, Said one among them--"Surely not in vain," strikes me as ambiguous or awkwardly expressed. It really doesn't flow smoothly from the previous quatrain.
Among the Potter's creations, one is speaking so quietly that it sounds as if it were just some ashes being stirred. The reference here is obvious: ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Possibly some long deceased human's ashes were gathered up in the clay used to create this pot. I wonder if this is a vague reference to reincarnation. That voice, Which mine ear kindled into living Word, was so faint that I wonder if he really heard anything at all.
I think this was supposed to be an introductory quatrain, leading to some idea expressed in the following quatrain. However, this didn't happen, so FitzGerald decided to remove it.
yes, it seems rather ambiguous and indirect... maybe too much vino and falling into the fireplace haha
ReplyDeleteMudpuddle,
DeleteYes, his quatrains are usually of two types: one leads into the next quatrain as sort of an introduction to it or it states a specific theme. This one looks to be the first type, an intro leading to the next quatrain, but the next quatrain doesn't seem to flow directly from it.
Too much vino? Perhaps. . .
Fred,
ReplyDeleteI read Rubaiyat years ago. I had a couple of good friends from Iran who showed me their book in Farsi then coincidentally I found a copy in English at a Salvation Army of all places.
I remember next to nothing about it except that too much wine was dangerous (If I'm even remembering that right.) What I liked were the Persian illustrations. My friends pointed out to me that a sign of womanly beauty was the eyebrows connecting in the middle. :)
That's another book I have around here somewhere and need to look for. Maybe it's hiding with my Charles Williams.
Reading only the section you've published without any context, it sounds like the narrator is listening to something ancient but has come back alive into significance for him.
Sharon,
DeleteI have a copy that has lavish Persian illustrations also. It really adds to the work.
There are several quatrains in FitzGerald's translation/rendering that take place in that Potter's shop, In a number of them, the pots do have things to say, just as though they were once human and alive and now have some thing to tell us. The problem with this quatrain is that there is no follow up, which is perhaps why FitzGerald later dropped it from subsequent editions.
The pots talking sounds very interesting (less scary than gargoyles :). I don't think I understood what I was reading. Your review has given me the impetus to find the book and re-read it.
DeleteSharon,
DeleteDefinitely less scary, but possibly heretical, depending upon one's religious views.
Well, I am a Christian but I never shy away from reading about other beliefs. Folk tales, poetry, wise sayings and saga offer so much richness in understanding other cultures and the human psyche.
ReplyDeleteOf course the best thing is to meet people and have them explain their beliefs to you. For example, I had read a book of Indian folk tales, including the Ramayana. I spent one evening with a young man at a dinner party who was Indian and he enthusiastically spent an hour explaining the story to me and what it meant to him. This man was a medical student but these folk tales were very much a part of his reality.
Sharon,
DeleteIt's unfortunate that so many people are afraid to look into other people's beliefs. Perhaps they fear that something they learn may change their mind or cast doubt.
Fred, does the capitalization of "Word" suggest something like the Bible's New Testament use of "the Word"? I confess that the New Testament is much on my mind this week, and even more so this morning as I sit waiting in the hospital for my wife to come out of surgery, so I might be guilty of affective fallacy.
ReplyDeleteTim,
DeleteInteresting question. It may have been in his mind, but he is a lot like ED in that respect for he generally capitalizes nouns. He has capitalized Tongue, and ashes and whisper would have been capitalized even if they hadn't been the first word in the line.
So, it may have been on his mind, I don't know, but I think he would have capitalized it anyway.
I hope all is well after your wife's surgery.