COVE

On the page with stanzas 13-16 in Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, we get a detailed illustration by Elihu Vedder of a woman amongst a rose bush and vines, a skull, and a broken part of some statue-like sculpture. When examining this illustration, we can see how it works together with stanza 14 to contribute to the overarching theme of nature in the book as a whole.

The first line of stanza 14 states, “look to the blowing Rose about us–Lo.” This line works in tandem with the images of the roses beside the women in the illustration. The roses border the stanzas, providing the naturalistic theme through image. With the capitalization of ‘Rose’ in the stanza, our gaze is encouraged to focus on the word. This emphasis allows us to see the theme of nature come through and makes us wonder about its importance. What follows in the stanza could be interpreted as personifying a ‘Mother Nature’ figure. The following line states, “‘Laughing,” she says, “into the world I blow”.” The beginning of this speech cues the audience into the idea that a woman figure is speaking. The idea of laughing in the world and blowing like a gust of wind contributes to a theme of nature, as the language feels tied to nature in that way. But it also may be alluding to Mother Nature, her being represented as the Rose, and talking directly to the audience. Even in line with the Rose, it is described as’ blowing’ similarly to how the speaker describes themself. This connection may be seen when we examine the illustration again. Since the illustration includes a woman figure leaning against the rose border, we may be able to make the connection that she is meant to be the Mother Nature. The next line may give us a clue as to the connection between her and the woman speaker in the stanza. The line states, “”At once the silken tassel of my Purse”.” Again, this line continues to be stated by the woman speaker, her speaking directly to the audience. She describes having a silken tassel, which we can see the woman illustration having as well. The illustration depicts her as being dressed in a silky, draped dress while around her waist lies a silk tassel. We can see that the ends of the tassel are frayed, possibly torn from something else. The torn detail contributes to the following line of the stanza that states, “”Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw”.” This line is followed by the one before, informing us that the silken tassel was torn. The stanza, yet again, is connecting the woman speaker to the woman in the illustration. Since we can see that the illustration and stanza are working together to pose her as the speaker, we may still wonder if she is meant to be Mother Nature. Again, the stanza starts by personifying the Rose, only to be followed by a woman speaker, suggesting that there might be a connection. In the poem as a whole, the theme of nature often goes together with the idea of appreciating the simple aspects of life, like wine and bread. Perhaps by having a Mother Nature figure, this stanza and the illustration allow for that idea to come through, prompting the audience to take notice of nature and the simplicity of life.