# XCVIII explained — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

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

## What happens

The speaker wishes for a winged angel to intervene before it is too late, to alter or erase the unrolled record of fate, expressing a desire to change the predetermined course of destiny.

## Themes in this chapter

### Determinism and Fate

The chapter directly addresses the unrolling of Fate and the desire to alter the predetermined record.

### Mortality and Transience

The plea for intervention 'ere too late' underscores the urgency of mortality and the fleeting chance to change one's destiny.

## Key lines

> Would but some wingèd Angel ere too late Arrest the yet unfolded Roll of Fate, And make the stern Recorder otherwise Enregister, or quite obliterate!

If only a winged angel would stop the unfolding scroll of destiny before it's too late, and force the stern recorder to rewrite or completely erase it.

_The speaker yearns for divine intervention to alter the irreversible course of fate._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xcviii
- 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