The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

     Because of its antiquity, the meaning of many of its references can be lost on modern readers. I've made a thorough study of this poem and have written an explanation of each of its 100 four-line stanzas, or quatrains as they are called.  Here's an example of the poem's most famous quatrain and the kind of understanding I bring to it.

A book of verses underneath the bough,

A jug of wine, a loaf of bread--& thou

Beside me singing in the wilderness—

Oh wilderness were paradise enow!

      In this most famous of the Rubaiyat’s quatrains, the poet says that all he really needs for happiness is art (songs—that is, verses—to be sung with his cup-bearer Saki), some bread for sustenance, and of course, his wine. And with these simple things, even the wilderness is paradise enough. He implies that the wilderness is the strip of greenery that borders birth and death—in other words, the land of the living.

     Each of the poem's 100 quatrains is fully explained and the total runs to more than 30 pages of poem and text. This is a wonderful opportunity for any lover of poetry, student of poetry, or someone who wants to grasp one of the world's most classic poems to thoroughly and completely understand every line of the Rubaiyat.

     To order your copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, annotated with complete exegesis by Jeff Cox, click on the Contact Us button at the top of this page by my picture and request it. I'll send you the address where you can send a check or money order for the cost of the poem. Let me know whether you want it as a hard-copy printout or as an electronic file.

     Your satisfaction is guaranteed.  --Jeff