# LXXI explained — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

> Chapter companion for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám.

## What happens

The chapter presents the metaphor of the Moving Finger, emphasizing the irrevocability of fate and the futility of human efforts to alter what has been written.

## Themes in this chapter

### Determinism and Fate

The Moving Finger writes and cannot be altered, underscoring the deterministic nature of existence.

### Mortality and Transience

The permanence of the written line contrasts with the transient efforts of piety, wit, and tears.

## Key lines

> The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

Destiny inscribes our fate indelibly; no prayer, intelligence, or sorrow can erase even a part of what has been decreed.

_This quatrain encapsulates the theme of predestination and the powerlessness of humans to change their written fate._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxxi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters