This quatrain is thematically linked with the previous quatrain and several of the following quatrains with its recommendation that wine is the best solution to the quandaries presented by our existence here.
SECOND EDITION: QUATRAIN LV
Oh, plagued no more with Human or Divine,
To-morrow's tangle to itself resign,
And lose your fingers in the tresses of
The Cypress-slender Minister of Wine.
FIFTH EDITION, QUATRAIN XLI
Perplext no more with Human or Divine,
To-morrow's tangle to the winds resign,
And lose your fingers in the tresses of
The Cypress-slender Minister of Wine.
One of the changes made between the Second and the Fifth Editions occurs early in the first line where "Oh, plagued" becomes "Perplext," where, instead of being bothered by the "Human of Divine," one is now confused by it. The second change takes place in the second line where the "To-morrow's tangle" is left to itself in the Second Edition and in the Fifth it is left to the winds. Since the winds will simply blow it away, that suggests the problem is insolvable whereas if it's left to itself, that hints that it may resolve itself.
In both quatrains the poet advises to leave the tangle be, although with differing consequences, and instead to become enamored of wine, the ultimate solution to all tangles, be they human or divine.
R.T.,
ReplyDeleteThe clue is in the third line. Those tresses, I read somewhere, are really grape vines.
It's a weak reference I realize, but that's the problem with those quatrains added in the Second Edition. They really aren't as good, I think, as the First Edition. He should have left it at the original 75 Quatrains. And, when he makes changes to quatrains for the second edition, they are seldom improved. I usually prefer the first edition version.
i read a volume of fitzgerald's letters a while back; interesting, upper classman, living on an english freehold; he only started learning persian at a late date but became enamored with khayyam's poetry and decided to attempt a translation. the result was overwhelmingly popular, but controversy followed fairly quickly concerning the accuracy of his work. some critics seemed to believe that the poems were more fitzgerald than omar...
ReplyDeleteMudpuddle,
DeleteI don't read Persian, so I can't speak from my own experience. However, I have glanced through other versions, and there is considerable difference between FitzGerald's version and the other translations.
I've also read similar comments and suspect they are right.
I wonder if any of his critics tried to do a translation themselves.
i don't know... but there's no denying their immense popularity in the present form, even if they are somewhat out of line with judeo-christian principles. i actually don't know whether they reflect the culture of any period at all; maybe pre-8th c. persia, although the originals were written after that i believe. wine-toping to excess would seem to indicate a sort of nietzchian(sp.) bent, or a fatalism that originated farther east and later, maybe... another subject ripe for extensive research...
ReplyDeleteMudpuddle,
DeleteThe philosophy is very common--it's known as carpe diem or seize the day, also expressed as "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." The phrase is taken from an ode by the Roman poet Horace, from 23 B.C. Following is a link to a page discussing the phrase.
http://tinyurl.com/8e4q7c2
This is a link to a page with a number of poems expressing the same idea; many are written by English poets.
http://tinyurl.com/r9ocza