The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
XVIII explained
The chapter reflects on the transience of power and glory, using the imagery of Jamshýd's courts now inhabited by a lion and lizard, and the great hunter Bahrám lying in an eternal sleep beneath the hooves of a wild ass.
What happens
The chapter reflects on the transience of power and glory, using the imagery of Jamshýd's courts now inhabited by a lion and lizard, and the great hunter Bahrám lying in an eternal sleep beneath the hooves of a wild ass.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Transience
The chapter contrasts past glory with present decay, emphasizing the inevitable end of all power and life.
Characters to notice
- Bahrám
Referenced as the great hunter now sleeping eternally, his head trampled by a wild ass.
Key passages
“They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep”
It is said that wild animals now inhabit the once magnificent courts of the legendary king Jamshýd.
Illustrates the decay of worldly splendor.
“And Bahrám, that great Hunter—the Wild Ass Stamps o’er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.”
Even the mighty hunter Bahrám lies dead, undisturbed by the wild ass stamping above his grave.
Highlights the finality of death, which no power or skill can overcome.