The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
I explained
The poem opens with a vivid image of dawn, as the Sun chases away the stars and night, striking the Sultán's turret with light, symbolizing the awakening of a new day.
What happens
The poem opens with a vivid image of dawn, as the Sun chases away the stars and night, striking the Sultán's turret with light, symbolizing the awakening of a new day.
Themes in this chapter
Carpe Diem
The call to 'Wake!' at dawn urges seizing the day, a central carpe diem motif.
Characters to notice
- Sultán
Mentioned as the ruler whose turret is struck by the shaft of light from the Sun.
Key passages
“I Wake! For the Sun, who scatter’d into flight The Stars before him from the Field of Night, Drives Night along with them from Heav’n, and strikes The Sultán’s Turret with a Shaft of Light.”
I awaken because the Sun, which chases the stars away from the night sky, pushes night out of heaven and shines a beam of light onto the Sultán's tower.
This opening quatrain establishes the dawn setting and the theme of awakening.