The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
LXXXII explained
As Ramadan departs, the speaker stands alone in the Potter's house, surrounded by shapes of clay, reflecting on the transient nature of time and the divine craftsmanship.
What happens
As Ramadan departs, the speaker stands alone in the Potter's house, surrounded by shapes of clay, reflecting on the transient nature of time and the divine craftsmanship.
Themes in this chapter
The Potter and Clay Metaphor
The speaker stands in the Potter's house surrounded by shapes of clay, emphasizing the metaphor of divine creation and human passivity.
Mortality and Transience
The departure of Ramadan and the imagery of clay shapes highlight the fleeting nature of time and life.
Characters to notice
- The Bonhomme
The speaker stands alone in the Potter's house, observing the shapes of clay.
Key passages
“As under cover of departing Day Slunk hunger-stricken Ramazán away”
As the day ended and Ramadan, weakened by fasting, quietly left,
The personification of Ramadan as a hungry figure departing at day's end.
“Once more within the Potter’s house alone I stood, surrounded by the Shapes of Clay.”
I stood alone again in the Potter's workshop, encircled by clay figures.
The speaker returns to the metaphor of the Potter (God) and the clay (humanity).