Edward FitzGerald's version of the Rub¿¿of the medieval Persian poet and philosopher Omar Khayy¿contains some of the most frequently quoted - and beautiful - lines in English poetry. Daniel Karlin's richly annotated edition does justice to the scope and complexity of FitzGerald's lyrical meditation on 'human death and fate'.

Daniel Karlin is Professor of English at the University of Sheffield. His books include Proust's English and Browning's Hatreds.

• Introduction


• Note on the Text


• Note on the Pronunciation and Transcription of Persian Words


• Select Bibliography


• A Chronology of Edward FitzGerald


• RUBÁIYÁT OF OMAR KHAYYÁM


• Table of Corresponding Stanzas


• Appendix 1: Contemporary Responses


• Appendix 2: Tennyson, 'To E. FitzGerald'


• Variants


• Explanatory Notes