# CXVII explained — The Luzumiyat

> Chapter companion for The Luzumiyat by Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri.

## What happens

A brief quatrain reflecting on the reversal of fortune, where a once-powerful ruler is reduced to a cup in a drunkard's hand or shattered on the tavern floor, illustrating the transience of power and the whims of fate.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fate and Destiny

The quatrain emphasizes the inescapable power of fate, which can transform a ruler into a broken cup on the tavern floor.

### Mortality and Transience

The swift reversal from wielding the sword of state to being smashed highlights the fleeting nature of power and life.

## Character check-ins

### Fate

Fate is depicted as the force that reduces a former wielder of the sword of state to a mere cup, subject to the tavern-floor.

## Key lines

> Turned to a cup, who once the sword of state Held o’er the head of slave and potentate, Is now held in the tippler’s trembling hand, Or smashed upon the tavern-floor of Fate.

One who once held the power of life and death over everyone, from slaves to rulers, has now become a mere drinking cup—either grasped by a shaky drunkard or shattered on the tavern floor by fate.

_The paraphrase clarifies the metaphor of the cup as a symbol of the former ruler's reduced state._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/cxvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters