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Quiz about Thoughts from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Thoughts from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Quiz

Omar Khayyam was a Persian poet who lived from 1048 to 1131. His work was discovered in 1859 and translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald. While the first few verses may not be familiar, the last verse is actually quite well known.

by Isipingo. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
Isipingo

Time
3 mins

Type

Quiz #
416,820

Updated
Jul 19 24

# Qns
16

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
12 / 16

Plays
49

We are but moving in a row
Of magic shapes that come and go
Round with the sun-illumined
Held in the night by the of the show

We are but in the game he plays
Upon this of nights and days
Hither and thither , and checks and slays
And one by one each back in his lays

The ball no makes of ayes or noes
But right or left, as strikes, the goes
But he that ye down upon the field,
He about it all, he knows, he knows

The moving finger writes, and having writ
Moves on: nor all your nor
Can lure it back to cancel a line
Nor all your wipe out a word of it

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer:

Omar Khayyam was born in Nishapur, Iran on 18th May 1048. He studied science, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy and wrote several influential books on mathematics. In 1074 he helped set up an observatory in Isfahan where the actual length of a year was calculated almost exactly - without the use of computers.
In later life he became a recluse and was viewed in his own time as a philosopher rather than a poet. His poetry was written in quatrains. The 'Moving Finger' verse has been used by people such as Agatha Christie, Bill Clinton and Martin Luther King Jnr. The verse is written in English on a faculty building at the University of Leiden.

Omar Khayyam is buried in Nishapur in what is known as the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyam. In 1934 a white marble statue of him was built at the site by the rulers of Iran. Statues of Omar Khayyam exist in a number of cities including Bucharest, Madrid and Florence. There is one at the University of Oklahoma. In 2009 the state of Iran donated a pavilion including his statue to the UN office in Vienna.

Google released two 'Google Doodles' commemorating him on 18th May 2012 and 2019 (his 964th and 971st birthday).

Source: Author Isipingo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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