The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
LXXX explained
The speaker addresses a divine power, accusing it of setting traps and snares along the path of life, and questions the justice of predestining evil and then blaming the individual for falling into sin.
What happens
The speaker addresses a divine power, accusing it of setting traps and snares along the path of life, and questions the justice of predestining evil and then blaming the individual for falling into sin.
Themes in this chapter
Determinism and Fate
The quatrain directly addresses the concept of predestined evil and the entrapment of human beings by divine will.
Skepticism and Doubt
The speaker expresses doubt about the fairness of a deity that sets traps and then punishes the victim.
Characters to notice
- Omar Khayyám
The speaker of the quatrain, expressing a theological complaint against divine predestination.
Key passages
“Oh, Thou, who didst with pitfall and with gin Beset the Road I was to wander in, Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round Enmesh, and then impute my Fall to Sin!”
O God, you set traps and snares along the path I was destined to walk; you will not surround me with predetermined evil and then blame my downfall on sin.
A direct paraphrase of the quatrain's complaint against divine predestination and entrapment.