COVE

In this version of The Rubaiyát, there are a few different oil paintings inserted in, with an assigned passage to go with them. This is a really interesting way of the artist drawing connections between their work and the work of Khayyám. The image associated with stanza XI depicts two men, lounging under a tree, sharing food and drink, two things that are repeated throughout The Rubáiyát. Khayyam uses this image, associated with stanza XI in order to enlighten people on the importance of earthly comforts, happiness, and living in the moment. Looking at this stanza in relation to the image, there are a lot of similarities and together they paint a lovely picture of relaxation and enjoying company of friends or loved ones. Khayyam begins this stanza with mentions of bread, wine, a book of verse, and “Thou” (25). Throughout The Rubáiyát there are mentions of eating and drinking, singing, and dancing, and the importance of rewarding yourself and celebrating your life while you live it. Throughout Khayyám’s work there are qualities that go against the typical, religious images and ideas, especially the idea of enjoying your life while you have it, and not just indulging after death. The words in this stanza are pretty perfectly depicted in the painting. The two friends, “And Thou”, and the man also appears to be pouring a drink, the wine.

The second half of the stanza references singing in “the wilderness” (25) and how it is “Paradise enow” (25), which translates to “paradise enough”. The phrase “paradise enow” (25) could be a direct connection to Khayyám’s mindset about life. “Wilderness is Paradise enow” (25) is a way of saying that you need not look for paradise in death, in religion, that paradise can be right here on Earth, just in the world you live in every day. It seems that throughout The Rubáiyát there are multiple different vessels for speaking about the things talked about in this stanza and showed in this picture. The men in this photo are not depicted in any sort of obvious afterlife, they are sitting below a tree, enjoying the delight and relaxation, right there under the bough.

Depicted in both the image and the text is a sense of celebration and relaxation. There is no talk of fighting, of struggle, of sadness, there is only sharing and enjoying. There is a certain comfort found in the image, the men lounging, sharing a drink in company with each other. This is the message that Khayyám is sending us through this stanza, the importance of comfort, of celebration, and enjoyment of company and time. I believe that Khayyam is saying that what we need to do to be happy, what we need to do in this life is to live. We should sit outside in nature, taking in the world around us. We should spend time with people we love, with friends and families, those who we are comfortable and safe with. We should be enjoying the fruits of our world, the wines, and the bread. We should use every opportunity to play music, to sing, to spew together words of love and words of advice.