Pessimism and uncertainty in Arthur Clough's English poetry

Pessimism in Poetry

Pessimism in the Poems of Arthur Clough

Arthur Clough was a British poet who spent some of his a few of his formative years in the United States. He was considered a genius from a young age, but his consequent stint at Oxford was not fruitful. His poems are mostly pessimistic; but as an explication of his poems which follows showd that most of his pessimism came from a deep sense of uncertainty. This is perhaps a reflection of his entire life with its foibles and failings. Arthur was solitary as a child; the death of his father did not allow him to enjoy is youth as he had to look after his mother and sister. He had a failed marriage. He was disillusioned with religion and sought different denominations of Christianity without much success. He was also disillusioned by the academic life, despite his time spent at Oxford. He also struggled with finding a theme for his poems, once again without much success. He attempted to follow the stylings of other poets, and quickly rejected them. At his death, at a relatively young age, he left behind a tremendous body of work in several languages, including Latin, French and Italian. Though an assessment of all his works are beyond the scope of this work, certainly 23 of his poems written in English will be probed to find the reasons behind his pessimistic approach to writing poetry, perhaps a reflection to the sadness in his life and the quest of something that he could never find, despite all his efforts.

The best way to start with identifying pessimism in Clough's poems is to highlight a poem that finds dankness and despair even in the midst of light. Consider the poem, "In the Depths." Clough indicates that thought there despite strong positives in the world around us, life soon turns sour.

It is not sweet content, be sure,

That moves the nobler Muse to song,

Yet when could truth come whole and pure

From hearts that inly writhe with wrong?

In fact, he criticizes those who go through life as if on a cloud, not knowing that behind every situation filled with brightness and happiness, lurks deep and dark secrets to which there is no solution.

Our ills are worse than at their ease

These blameless happy souls suspect,

They only study the disease,

One might sing a good song celebrating life, but the truth soon stills any optimism.

This poem is almost a celebration of pessimism.

Consider another poem, which might superficially seem to be the very antithesis of pessimism, "All Is Well." Here, like most of Clough's poems, pessimism comes for uncertainty. He asks people to sleep on their worries, that when they wake up their worries won't go away, but because there is so much uncertainty in life that worrying too much will not do people any good; here again, though he pretends optimism, there's a deep undercurrent of uncertainty. There are so many uncontrollable aspects of life that there is no point worrying about them. But the underlying fear of the unknown in this poem is so palpable that it would seem that the author has failed to yield to his own advice.

In spite of dreams, in spite of thought,

Tis not in vain, and not for nought,

The wind it blows, the ship it goes,

Though where and whither, no one knows.

A few of Clough's poems come from perhaps his disillusionment with religion. In the poem, "Along the Sea, Along the Shore," the poet puts himself in the place of an onlooker in the area surrounding Jerusalem around the time of Christ's ministry. The poet is aware (retrospectively) that this is Christ -- the redeemer, the savior of the world and the inspiration for Christianity. There is no indication that despite his problems with religion, that Clough was an atheist. but, in this poem, he questions the people of Jerusalem as to why they flock to "see," "hear" and "note" this man who was a teacher and preached from a boat.

The valley through, the mountain down,

What was it ye went out to see,

Ye silly folk Galilee?

A young man preaching in a boat.

What was it ye went out to hear

What is it came ye here to note?

A young man preaching in a boat.

The poet castigates these people, the Jews of that time, for having ignored the laws of Moses (that set the stage for Judaism). He wonders as to what drives these people to this person who talks about things that the scribes and Pharisees -- the learned members of the time did not teach or speak about. Here, perhaps, Clough is feeling depressed because of his own failing to recognize a denomination of Christianity with which he can be satisfied. He perhaps is mirroring his disillusionment and lack of fulfillment from his own religion by blaming those who blindly follow a faith without making the attempt to understand what religion is all about and how to apply Christianity all around them. As in most of Clough's poems, discussed in this part of the dissertation, his pessimism comes from uncertainty. The uncertainty comes from the fear of whether Christ is the Messiah; therefore, the poet begins to question where Jesus came from; Jesus certainly seems to speak in ways that are atypical. To have faith is one thing; but to have faith means to forget and forgo all that is tried and tested and comfortable; Clough's fears stem from the fact that Jesus is a rebel and seeks to overturn conventional wisdom.

Clough revisits the issue of Christianity once again in the poem, "Ah! Yet Consider it Again.! There is no immediate clue as to what aspect of humanity he is criticizing or that this poem is indeed about Christianity. But one clue arises in the following line:

The souls of now two thousand years

This poem is about it is about waiting for the Messiah, starting from the part when Christ died. Here Clough asks the reader for his or her raison d' tre. What have they accomplished in waiting for the Messiah? Christ promised, through (or the Apostle John credited with writing) the book of Revelations, that the Messiah would come back; this means that the "two thousand" years after Christ's death people are still waiting for the revelation -- people are afraid that this might not come about as was prophesied. He is critical of those that spend the time in waiting and not knowing. The world goes on its merry way, and people who are waiting inactively do so in the hope that the Messianic prophecy might be fulfilled, but that it might never happen in their lifetime.

Alas! The great world goes its way,

And takes its truth from each new day;

They do not quit, nor can retain,

Far less consider it again.

At the same time, Clough shows steadfastness in his faith in God. For instance, in the poem "With Whom is no Variableness, Neither Shadow of Turning," he acknowledges the helping hand of God, at the same time declaring his pessimism in the abilities of Man. He acknowledges, at the same time as he does the immutable power of God, the frailty of Man.

That, thought I perish, Truth is so:

That, howsoe'er I stray and range,

Whate'er I do, Thou dost not change

Clough spent a large part of his life struggling with religion. Indeed, in his own life, he changed several denominations, seeking perhaps a form of Christianity that he could be happy with, or one that was in line with his personality. Once again, in "Perche Pensa? Pensando s'Invecchia," thought it is not immediately obvious; he puts himself in the place of a believing and faithful Christian. There is no reference in this poem to the Jesus of Christianity. The poet bemoans his Christianity; he believes that the doctrine tells us that all suffering is acceptable, that sinless behavior and one that does not seek hedonism is good. This is because we can wait for the Second Coming of Christ, where those in poverty or self-denial will be given the glories of heaven.

Upon the mind to hold them clear,

And, knowing more may yet appear,

Unto one's latest breath to fear

The premature result to draw

Is this the object, end and law,

And purpose of our being here?

The poet is tired of waiting and he is sympathetic to Christians everywhere who, the poet is afraid, might put their faith in something that may not occur -- we have seen this before. The last line of the poem also challenges the notion of the meaning of life. Clough pessimistically believes that this sort of a life is hardly worth living.

In a veiled fashion, the poet believes that while people are expected to live out their lives in a certain way that God has not kept to his promised.

Another poem of Clough's is the very epitome of pessimism -- is in the title "Through a Glass, Darkly." The point made by the poet is similar to the poem above. The reference to John,

The Father of our souls, shall be,

John tells us, doth not yet appear;

is a reference to the Book of Revelations, at the end of the Bible.

That despite the promises of an Eternal life for those who eschew sin, we are still frail and have the faults of people. We are still besought by sin and temptations and there's really no escape. People are people. No matter what we say or do, we find that life is not so simple. Consider this reference, which really refers to a person's frame of reference or "way of seeing."

Wise men are bad -- and good are fools,

This is a paradoxical statement: there is large gap between spirituality and reality. Those we consider wise or bad, might make decisions that are globally profound, but might harm specific people, yet these people are considered wise. Sometimes people who are considered good, might in their goodness not realize that they are doing harm. Here, the poet is confused. Life is not as simple as one might imagine or as the Bible admonishes us to believe. And yet, there is still a glimmer of hope for each of us, according to Clough. He begs that we continue to believe. That despite the pessimism and failure to find the Messiah, he believes that what was prophesied might yet come to pass.

He echoes these sentiments in "The Last Decalogue," which is another way of referring to the Ten Commandments. It is interesting to see why he calls it the Last Decalogue; there has been only one, and according to Christianity, this is immutable, as it bears the finality of the word of God. There is no point here, in attempting to rewrite the poem, because most are aware of the Ten Commandments. But the poet portrays the commandments as a way for the Israelites to repay God by obeying these commandments as recompense for being brought out of slavery.

Approves all forms of competition

God on the other hand, makes no commitments to his people, according to the poet who views this issue pessimistically, considering that Judaism arose out of that Exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Israel.

Clough's relationship with God was not only contentious, it was confusing, perhaps mirroring the confusion in his own demeanor towards God and religion. While he is largely complaining about God, who the poet believes does not keeps his own promises to God's people, but at the same time, he is critical of people who only turn to God in times of need. The entire poem, "There Is No God, the Wicked Sayeth" is filled with instances of people who while enjoying well-being turn to themselves, but to God in times of trouble. The following is one among many excerpts.

There is no God," the wicked saith,

And truly it's a blessing,

For what He might have done with us

It's better only guessing."

And almost everyone when age,

Disease, or sorrows strike him,

Inclines to think there is a God,

or something very like Him

The poem, "Noli Amuelari" is a fantastically fatalistic poem, not to mention pessimistic. Here the poet does not see light anywhere. Surrounding mankind is complete misery. Consider the opening lines for each of the four stanzas in the poem.

What though in blood their souls embruing

No violence--perverse -- persistent

In controversial foul impureness

By curses, by denunciation

And in all this, the poet sees neither a glimmer of hope nor redemption. In fact, he cautions that struggling against the downhill slide of the scheme of things is fruitless. He cautions, pessimistically, that there is no saving grace to all of this, that fighting against what one has not control over -- all off life, is a fool's choice. He advises that people should merely go with the flow because there is no redemption. We will see similar arguments made by Umar Khayyam towards the end of this essay.

From Clough's struggle with his Christianity, one must turn to poems with threads of pessimism because of his struggles with fear and uncertainty. There is no immediate evidence that Clough lived a life on the sea, or whether he had any bad experiences while sailing or traveling by sea. One is not sure if he was in a war. But he uses the Sea as the metaphor for his uncertainties. What comes immediately to mind is that Clough associates uncertainty with the Sea vs. The stability of firm ground. You have some recourse when facing a storm on land, but none whatsoever if a calamity of this kind would befall people at Sea.

In "Qua Cursum Ventus" he compares life's journey to a voyage, more importantly a journey through life with a friend. This friend is personified by another ship. Interestingly enough, in this journey, the ships are static, or in a holding pattern, or in the status quo during sunlight. But the ships and the winds and the sails come to life in the night.

When fell the night, upsprung the breeze,

And all the darkling hours they plied,

There is revelry after darkness falls, and this is when the crewmen feel alive, even in the face of a storm.

At dead of night their sails were fill'd,

And onward each rejoicing steer'd

Ah, neither blame, for neither will'd,

One is not sure then whether the darkness is a metaphor for the difficulties of life and that a friend is there during life's travails. One might also see the other ship as God who wills us onwards in the darkness of our lives. One parallel to this might be seen in the modern parable "Footprints in the Sand." To briefly provide a synopsis of this parable: a man dreams that he sees his entire life as footprints on the beach. Some times there's one set of prints, at other times there are two sets, the second set belonging to God. And the man realizes, in his dream that the two sets of prints are at good times in his life and during the difficult times, there is only one set of prints. Of this, he complains to God, who retorts, that God has been with him all his life, in good times and in bad. He saw only one set of prints during the difficult times, because that was when God carried him.

In this poem however, the poet shows a sense of uncertainty to the dawn of day or new horizons, he believes that things might seem not what they are. He is probably afraid that he will perceive his friend for who he is and find out that he is not really his friend.

To veer, how vain! on, onward strain,

Brave barks! In light, in darkness too,

Through winds and tides one compass guides

To that, and your own selves, be true.

The last line is something we hear quite often. Therefore, with this uncertainty in friendship, the poet admonishes that one should look out for one self first, without additional reliance on the other. Like two ships passing each other in the night, friendships might not last forever. This is an interestingly pessimistic view, for a poem that starts out glorifying the notion of friendship, togetherness and unity.

One will see in the coming paragraph how the uncertainty of the Sea becomes for the poet a source of pessimism. In "How in All Wonder," the poet is talking about the world being round; that he is of wonder how Columbus and other explorers like Drake and Bacon could look to undertake these journeys.

How in all wonder Columbus got over,

That is a marvel to me, I protest,

Cabot, and Raleigh too, that well-read rover,

Frobisher, Dampier, Drake and the rest.

Bad enough all the same,

For them that after came,

To explore.

There is a legitimate fear that they would fall off the face of the earth. From his pessimistic perch, the poet wonders how it would be possible that these people could summon up the strength and motivate themselves to undertake these journeys.

These voyagers and adventurers had no way of knowing that they would reach somewhere, and yet they undertook the journeys anyway. Clough is critical but at the same time grudgingly admires the optimism of these voyagers. But once again the pessimist in Clough wins over. He believes that even if the philosophers of old did believe that the earth was as round "as an orange." They would not have had to undertake such a journey: simply, because there is no "Ed Dorado" or "Fountain of Youth" to be found. It would be a thankless journey.

Sail to the West, and the East will be found.'

Many a day before Ever they'd touched the shore

Of the San Salvador,

Sadder and wiser men

They'd have turned back again;

Here, the poet uses El Salvador to indicate that they would find a world that was less civilized and that these journeys might bespeak escapism, but there was no escaping the realities of life.

In the poem "Where Lies the Land to Which the Ship Would Go?" The protagonist is enjoying the life at sea, the camaraderie of the good weather while sailing; and there is also the fun of fighting the foul weather though they may wish it past.

Where lies the land to which the ship would go?

Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know.

And where the land she travels from? Away,

Far, far behind, is all that they can say.

But under it all there is a deep-set uncertainty; this is because though they are sailing, they are not sure exactly where they are going to go. There is certainly a longing for the land, but there is also a paradoxical compromise: there is an exultation from life at sea but there is a need to be on land; there is also the uncertainty which much like life means one is not sure what is in store for them; at least the sea despite its ranges of weather is predictable. Again, this could also be a metaphor for life's long journeys. One is happy to put the past behind us and would rather not retroactively live any of the difficulties of the past; at the same time, the future is uncertain, and in keeping with a theme, both the difficulties of the past and the uncertainties of the future, from a sailor's perspective are represented by land. The sailor is more certain of his sea-legs and the problems associated with sailing than deal with something he is unsure about.

Interestingly also, the poet immediately associates the sea with uncertainty, difficulties, war and even death. In the "Flags of Piccadilly," Clough proposes the opposite of what he did in "Where lies the land to which the Ship would Go?" He considers the sea to be the uncertainty -- but that's because if represents war. The flags actually represent the flagstones that were used to pave the roads of London and most of Europe in the nineteenth century. The protagonist, who probably was one of many entrusted with the task of paving the streets of the popular Piccadilly in London hated the work, because it was hard work -- monotonous and backbreaking. And he would give anything to get away from doing this work.

Ye flags of Piccadilly,

Where I posted up and down,

And wished myself so often

Well away from you and town

But now he addresses the flagstones as if they were people. He misses his hometown. He recalls the buntings around those streets (to this day Piccadilly Circus is representative of a festive side of London, just as Fleet Street is where the journalists and writers work) and the various stores and the children who play in the parks and the people who walk up and down the streets.

But now the protagonist is at war. He faces the uncertainty of life; and the future of peace and democracy is at stake.

This squally wild northwester

With which our vessel fights,

Does it merely serve with you to Carry up some paper kites?

He is so afraid of what is undergoing right now -- as a sailor during war time facing the dangers from man and nature. He would love to be back feeling the solidity and familiarity of the flagstones of his home town, something he had loathed not too long ago.

There is pessimism in Clough about the futility of war. The poem "Say Not the Strength Not Availeth" is a metaphor for war. Despite the poet and his comrade's best efforts, there is a sense of resignation. The will to win has been lost; the enemy is unrelenting and there is nothing to be gained in fighting.

The enemy faints not, nor faileth,

And as things have been they remain.

If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;

It may be, in yon smoke conceal'd,

Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers,

And, but for you, possess the field.

War is such a difficult time that there is no end in sight. Respite is slow in coming while difficulties come in hordes

But the feelings of security of home are soon forgotten in a "London Square," Clough bemoans the weather, while celebrating the arrival of spring and the anticipation of summer. This is about the enjoyment of spring.

Put forth thy leaf, thou lofty plane,

East wind and frost are safely gone;

With zephyr mild and balmy rain

The summer comes serenly on;

Earth, air, and sun and skies combine

To promise all that's kind and fair:

But Clough's overall pessimistic demeanor comes through when he belabors the suffering of winter too much. And he also fears the return to spring; he cautions his heart not to celebrate too much. This is seen in the ending couplets of the two stanzas of the poems, though the first parts of each stanza are about celebrating spring.

But thou, O human heart of mine,

Be still, contain thyself, and bear.

And thou, O human heart of mine,

Be still, refrain thyself, and wait.

Clough is even pessimistic about education. He does not believe that there is much to be gained from sitting in a class. He bemoans the fact that the student has to learn philosophy, which is dense and perplexing and has no bearing on reality.

Thou vain Philosophy!

Little hast thou bestead,

Save to perplex the head,

And leave the spirit dead.

He believes the education can be gained through nature, which is seen as a dynamic force, which is ever evolving. Much can be learned by merely attempting to recognize what nature is.

Clough wrote a novel in verse in five Cantos, "Amours de Voyages," which literally translated means "loves of the voyage or journey." The protagonist, Claude is motivated to go traveling, he wants to remove himself from the rut in which he finds himself. The First Canto involves him getting ready to go to traveling with his dog.

Tis but to prove limitation, and measure a cord, that we travel;

Let who would 'scape and be free go to his chamber and think;

Tis but to change idle fancies for memories wilfully falser;

Tis but to go and have been.' -- Come, little bark! let us go.

But he has significant problems with the places that he might go. For most people today, Rome would be among the top ten places to travel. But Claude despises Rome, for its weather and lack of places of sightseeing. He does not want to go to the Vatican (St. Peter's) and there are few other places to see, Claude moans. He does not like the fact that Rome celebrates its older treasures, which he believes mock the works of modern times and the future. He goes far as to wish that the Visitgoths ("Goths") when they sacked Rome should have destroyed everything.

Rome disappoints me much, -- St. Peter's, perhaps, in especial;

Only the Arch of Titus and view from the Lateran please me:

This, however, perhaps is the weather, which truly is horrid.

Seem to be treasured up here to make fools of present and future.

Would to Heaven the old Goths had made a cleaner sweep of it!

But such is Claude's pessimism and his bleak outlook on life and he believes that Rome is preferable to London (presumably, where he lives as he writes this missive to Eustace), in only that it is not London. Clearly he hates London even more. One might guess by this time that London or Rome or ever Athens has nothing to do with his dislike of these places.

He does mention somewhere in this letter that he would prefer going to Athens, because there were better things to see; however, he does not appear terribly excited about it. Most people, even from ancient times, undertook travel for pleasure, to get away from the daily grind and for respite. But Claude sees nothing exciting around the places where he might travel. Claude finally tells Eustace why he feels about potential destinations the way he does (he does decide to go to Rome). This is because his heart is heavy and he is transfers the fact that he is not happy onto these must-visit places.

Somehow a tyrannous sense of a superincumbent oppression

Still, wherever I go, accompanies ever, and makes me

Feel like a tree (shall I say?) buried under a ruin of brickwork.

In the second Canto, Claude finds himself in Rome. And he cannot seem to understand what it is about the place that people find attractive. He finds the bricks of the Roman ruins and other aspect of the city that people like ugly and disheartening. He is inclined to believe that the only reason why so many travelers come to such a miserable place is because their is a spirit in the place that entices people.

Does there a spirit we know not, though seek, though we find, comprehend not,

Here to entice and confuse, tempt and evade us, abide?

Lives in the exquisite grace of the column disjointed and single,

Haunts the rude masses of brick garlanded gaily with vine,

He goes on to bemoan the fact that the travelers are no more than the invaders from the rest of Europe who have conspired to destroy the cities of Italy. Clearly he is not happy with his travel arrangements.

Right on the Place de la Concorde, -- I, nevertheless, let me say it,

Could in my soul of souls, this day, with the Gaul at the gates shed

One true tear for thee, thou poor little Roman Republic;

What, with the German restored, with Sicily safe to the Bourbon,

Not leave one poor corner for native Italian exertion?

In one of the earlier poems, we have seen how the poet prefers nature to philosophy. It turns out that he prefers bucolic surroundings to urban life. For him, despite the majesty of St. Peter's Basilica and staring at the large cupola, he is not too happy.

Yet to the wondrous St. Peter's, and yet to the solemn Rotunda,

Mingling with heroes and gods, yet to the Vatican Walls,

Yet may we go, and recline, while a whole mighty world seems above us,

He prefers to walk with his beloved up and down the Apennine Mountains, where he can smell the fresh air and take in the beauty and bounty of nature.

Ah, that I were far away from the crowd and the streets of the city,

Under the vine-trellis laid, O my beloved, with thee!

Where, upon Apennine slope, with the chestnut the oak-trees immingle,

Where, amid odorous copse bridle-paths wander and wind,

Where, under mulberry-branches, the diligent rivulet sparkles,

He eschews what tourists typically do and goes his own way, taking the scenic route, much to the discomfiture of his travelling companions as Mary Travellyn complains to Miss Roper.

In Canto IV, we realize that one member of the party that he abandoned in Rome was the woman, in whom he was in love. Desperately, he seeks her throughout Italy. He wonders where she is and seeks her in Italy.

Whitherward hasten to seek her? Ye daughters of Italy, tell me,

Graceful and tender and dark, is she consorting with you?

Thou that out-climbest the torrent, that tendest thy goats to the summit,

Call to me, child of the Alp, has she been seen on the heights?

Italy, farewell I bid thee! For whither she leads me, I follow.

The party also seems one step ahead of him. They leave message for him. Claude writes two letters to Eustace: the first is from Florence. He reaches Florence, just as they leave for Milan. He announces the must go to Milan. He hopes to catch up with them because he believes that he can travel faster. His pessimism is rife. He is sick of all the monuments.

Statues and churches? Alack, I am sick of the statues and pictures!

Once again, we realize that Claude would much rather be in nature than be among things man-made. In fact, while he pines for his beloved, he seeks information about her in nature, not the people on the street. Even the reference to the "daughters of Italy" is merely a symbolism. But they are always one step ahead of him. When he travels to Bellagio, he finds that they have already left the place and are headed to Como. Claude's despair causes him to tell Eustace that he would follow them anywhere across Italy and even to other parts or Europe.

Gone to Como, they said; and I have posted to Como.

There was a letter left; but the cameriere had lost it.

Could it have been for me?

In the fifth Canto, we find that Miss Roper has stayed in Florence. It is not clear whether she hopes to meet Claude there or to evade him. We realize that Claude is in love with Miss. Roper. Mary Travellyn, perhaps with the traveling party that includes the Roper family has gone to Lucerne, which is in Switzerland.

You are quite sure, you say, he asked you about our intentions;

You had not heard as yet of Lucerne, but told him of Como.

Well, perhaps he will come; however, I will not expect it.

However, Claude's letter to Eustace indicates to him that he could not meet the Ropers as they had left.

Ah! But this wrong, you see -- but I do not know that it matters.

Eustace, the Ropers are gone, and no one can tell me about them.

When he writes his final missive to Eustace from Pisa, he inquires from people, but cannot find Miss Roper; indeed, he complains that he has tried to contact some of Eustace's friends who he thought might help him, but to no avail.

I am ashamed, I declare, of asking people about it.

Who are your friends? You said you had friends who would certainly know them.

Clearly, one can see that Claude's vacation was not quite that. He, in a sense, has himself to blame for his discomfiture. He was not in a right frame of mind to travel. His pessimism followed him through all his journeys. He abandoned his traveling companions, one with whom he was in love. And when they went on their way without him, he realized the folly of his ways. He realized the folly of his ways without him. Thus, we see that he enthusiasm with which he felt he wanted to travel ended up in him traveling through more places than he wanted to, missing all of the sights that others enjoy, becoming fatigued and frustrated along the way.

Pessimism in the works of James Thomson

James B.V. Thomson was considered by most as the bleakest poets of the Victorian Age. He had several difficulties in his life and this is what probably showed in his poems. His was raised as an orphan and aligned himself with people who were atheists and considered radicals of the time. It is not that his works are pessimistic, but he was drawn to people he thought this way. He admired and translated the works of the pessimistic Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. Towards the end of his life he became deeply depressed and an alcoholic. He became estranged from society and lived as an outcast. And though some of his works garnered critical acclaim and he finally got the rewards he thought he was due, it did not halt is downward slide to his death in 1882.

As opposed to Clough's pessimism that came from uncertainty and futility that seemed to generate from within, Thomson's pessimism seems to come from without. It is as if Thomson has been ill-fated to suffer circumstances that come together to induce pessimism in him. In "A Song of Sighing," one cannot be sure the cause for the poet's affliction. However, it seems to have afflicted only him. He believes that his unhappiness does not mirror what is happening in the outside world. Perhaps, we will see a theme here as other poems are explored. The world outside is bright and happy. The poet does not revel in his misery but longs for some reprieve. He implores a butterfly to flutter into his dark and sad household and stir the air with whatever good and happy is outside.

With the luster of its wings

Lighting dreams of happy things,

He longs for the butterfly to bring a message from outside. He wants someone or something to let him know that all is well with the world, which enjoys a spring-like newness. It is possible that one of the reasons for his pessimistic outlook on life is because he is longing for love, or as he claims in the poem, "Art" that he has been estranged from the lady that he loves, and his love burns with a passionate zeal that threatens to set everything a fire. He is so lonely without his love that he believes that he can package his love, ensuring that it does not spill out, with an intricate pattern of silken string, so that it reaches the one he loves safe and sound. At the same time, he is afraid that the passion of his love would burn so strongly that it would cause the strings to burn away and his avowal of love for his lady would never get to its intended.

But in vain, in vain, would I make it fast

With countless subtle twines;

For ever its fire breaks out at last,

And shrivels all the lines

He hopes that he can find a dove that will carry his message to his lady-love in a golden cage. He is afraid that the dove will not have the strength to fly without ceasing or that the dove might not be focused enough to make haste and deliver his message of love.

or will you fling your dove:

Fly, darling, without rest,

Over land and sea to my Love,

And fold your wings in her breast"?

It is possible that while he pines for his love, he has done something to push her away. It might not be an act, but his pessimism does not permit him to enjoy love. The need to hurt himself could have caused him to say or do something that might have forced her to leave him. Though he wishes to package his love and send it to her, it is possible that she does not live far away, but the distance is merely symbolic.

We see some of the same in the poem "Four points in a Life." This poem is divided into two parts: the Dawn of Love and Marriage. The poet firsts revels in the love that he has found. He is completed besotted and feels as if he cannot live without the one he loves. Indeed, he basks in the love of his lady, and also is ecstatic about the state he is in.

The dreamtime, the hushed stillness of the night, see them shining pure and earnest light;

And here, all lonely, may I not avow

The thrill with which I ever meet their glance?

At first they gazed a calm abstracted gaze,

But even while he is in this state of love, something or someone, or his inner conflicts cause him to be wary of her. It is possible that his pessimistic demeanor creates obstacles in the way of happiness. The ups and downs within the relationship cause the reader to believe that the poet is could be bipolar. There are elements of guilt as well as neurosis. The poet has done something, perhaps from lust, cheated on his lover. Or it is possible that this is his way of destroying what causes him enjoyment. Now he sees the loving gaze of his lady love as one that is harsh and piercing, and perhaps, in his mind, accusatory.

Transfixing with sharp agony through and through Whatever ls not brave and clean and whole.

And yet I will not shrink, although thou piercest

Into the inmost depths of all my being

And once again he is contrite. He is married to the woman; he is tired from having pushed her away, through his imaginings or his actions. And just as in the previous poem, where fearing loneliness and burning with the passion of what might have been, the poet once more in this poem hearkens to his wife to have her back, so that he might once more bask in her loving embrace so that he may once again rekindle his love for her.

It does seem here that he is on a fool's errand. It is said "separation makes the heart go fonder." One cannot guarantee that if his wife returns to him, that he would treat her any better, abstain from things that he is ashamed of, real or imagined.

What am I when thou art gone?

Come darling, soon!

Come to me, oh come to me!

Let my failing head find rest, Love,

On thy pure and tender breast, Love;

Mater Tenebraum, loosely translated, Mother of Sorrow or Darkness is one of Thomson's more well-known poems. And like the three poems explored above, this is a poem about pining for lost love.

Love! 0 Beloved long lost! come down from thy Heaven above,

For my heart is wasting and dying in uttermost famine for love!

But there are probably literal, biblical or symbolic sub-texts to this poem. The protagonist is deeply religious and he asks Christ to come down from heaven and restore his love to him. Here he plays the role of Adam who has lost his Eve.

A cleave through the crushing gloom with a bitter and deadly cry:

Oh! where have they taken my Love from our Eden of bliss on this earth?

Have they killed her indeed? Is her soul as her body, which long

He believes that Eve is separated from him and has possible been killed. He implores God to restore Eve and bring them back together again. He is beside himself and is filled with torment. The only thing that keeps him is the hope that one day he might be with his true love.

What keeps me yet in this life., what spark in my frozen breast?

A fire of dread, 'a light of hope, kindled, 0 Love, by thee;

It is possible here that the poet casts himself in the role of Adam, figuratively, because he sees his love as the origin of all love. On the other hand, he could be a Christian, the descendants of Adam and Eve who have been cast out of the Garden of Eden to Earth with all the attendant suffering. The poet asks God to take pity, through his son, on Man's transgressions of Original Sin and asks that Man be restored to his original position (on creation) in God's good graces.

The same futile wailing would be shown in the poem "Night." A man lies dying or suffering, as above, from the absence of God's grace. He screams for the light, he goes on and on, imploring the heavens to show him the light.

Where is the light?

Shall nevermore

Open Heaven's door?

Oh, I am left

Lonely, bereft!"

And yet, there is no answer, despite his screams. And as the night wears on, there is no redemption because it does not seem that he will see the light of day. And then, just as the light of a star goes away, the man perishes having not seen the light.

And then like a star

Dwindled from sense

In the Immense.

He cried out through the night:

This might, on the poet's part, also be a cry for help. Except that he is perhaps imprisoned by his own character and sees no escape from it. He is aware that good things await him on the side that is bright and away from the darkness in which he finds himself mired. But his best efforts fail. Nobody on the other side heeds his cries for mercy. Else, nobody is on the other side because the key to the other side lies within him self, only he cannot find it -- and thus the tragedy.

No syllabled sound;

Beneath and around long shuddering thrill

Then all again still.

Similar sentiments are expressed in the poem "The Fire that Filled my Heart of Old." The poet is despondent. He was a man full of passion and laughter and merriment. He was driven by his heart, but that burning with the fire of all-consuming passion is no more. It is like a fireplace that is filled with cold ashes that if nothing else retain the memories of old.

The fire that filled my heart of old

Gave luster while it burned;

Now only ashes gray and cold

Are in its silence urned.

In the poem "Gifts" the poet is displays a positive demeanor. He feels motivated to take on the world. He feels that the simple pleasures in life can help alleviate life's most difficult moments. A horse can help a person ride, a ship can help him sail, and there's not wealth or riches that can compensate for that. A good book and a good pipe, simple leisurely activities take away from the mundane issues that face most people. And of course, there is love. He knows that no matter what befalls a person, knowing that he has the love of a good woman is enough no matter where or what state he be in.

This is a rare positive poem from Thomson. As far as the "love of a woman" issue is concerned however, it is possible that he might celebrate love only as a concept or a notion and not when he realistically has a woman to love and come home to.

Give a man a girl he can love,

As I, O my love, love thee;

And his heart is great with the pulse of Fate,

At home, on land, on sea.

Even when all is bright and well with the world, the pessimist does not look at the positive, but seeks to be leery of the unknown. In the poem, "Day" the protagonist walks down the sands, presumably, along a riverfront. The sands appear golden and the sunlight dazzles across the rippling currents. But the poet and pessimist does not take this into account and enjoy what he is witnessing. He looks at the sands and then the flowing river. His thoughts are pre-occupied with what the origin or the river is and what its destination is.

Whence flow ye, waters,

O'er your golden sand?

We come flowing

From the Silent Land

He looks at the sands and thinks the same thing. He looks around him and he has no idea where the river front begins and whether it accompanies the river to its source and destination. He then begins to wonder what this place of origin or destination might be like. He is afraid that he does not know that this "Silent Land" might be; it could be a place of darkness, where the golden color of the sand cannot be enjoyed by any body.

And what is this fair realm?

A grain of golden sand

In the great darkness

The corpse is hid, that Death may work its vile

The most salient point that sums up his philosophy occurs at the end of the second stanza. It sums up also his life and is a decisive point for all his poems. Thomson considers life as merely an interlude in Death's grand scheme. Death rules the conscious and sub-conscious and the life of a person as we know it is merely a dream.

Saw Space a mist unfurled around the steep

Where plunge Time's waters to the blackest deep;

Saw Life a dream in Death's eternal sleep.

Pessimism in the Works of Edward Fitzgerald

Edward Fitzgerald did not have some of the problems of birth that Alfred Clough or James Thomson had. But he had a set of circumstances that surrounded his life that are unique. Coming from a family that was exceedingly wealthy, he found out that there was inbreeding going on among the Fitzgeralds (his mother's maiden name, which he adopted; his father's family name was Purcell). He felt that half his family was insane and knew that some of this insanity had also been passed on to him.

He had many intimate male friends and his marriage lasted only a few months. There were enough indications that he might have been homosexual, though, of this, no one can be certain. Fitzgerald was eccentric. He ate sparingly. He was an avowed vegetarian, who hated vegetables. But he would eat meat on occasion, if his friends dined on meat. With increasing age, he grew disenchanted with religion and removed himself from church activities and even attending church. There are no immediate personality issues that one would use to consider him a pessimistic character.

Fitzgerald's greatest contribution to literature has been the translations of the Rubaiyat of Umar Khayyam, the 11 the century Turkish poet and mystic. Compared to the larger body of work of more than twenty poems each for Clough and Thomson, Fitzgerald's body of work is relatively short. The translations of Khayyam are his primary work.

Thomson, mentioned, in his "Philosophy" that Death ruled over all consciousness and that Life as we knew it was merely an interruption or a dream. Fitzgerald also shows us something similar in the poem "This Dream Called Life." In his dream, he found that he was a king and ruled over all. He was mighty and all sought counsel from him.

In a brave palace that was all my own,

Within, and all without it, mine; until,

Drunk with excess of majesty and pride,

But the dream of his majesty came to an end and reality struck. His view is rather pessimistic, but mostly borne in reality. He believes that no matter how powerful people are and what their strengths and talents, eventually death comes to all. Death is the greatest equalizer, as all things must come to an end, and when death is near, no talent or riches, or wealth of power will save a person.

Whether tomorrow's dawn shall break the spell,

or the last trumpet of the Eternal Day,

When dreaming, with the night, shall pass away.

On the other hand, two poems of Fitzgerald are positive. They suggest a remedy for the forlornness of winter. And that is friendship. It is possible to rid the malaise of winter by building a nice fire and within that fire warming oneself, having a smoke with a friend, reading a book, and even getting down on one's knees and praying to the Lord. The confidence comes from going to bed knowing that a friend is there for you, as well as waking up knowing that the same friend will be there in the morning.

Just as a lot of the genius of Clough and Thomson, like many other poets, came from the pain they felt in their hearts, whether external or self-induced, it has been mentioned before that Fitzgerald gave his all in a friendship to the point of intimacy. Fitzgerald's friendship was irrespective of the background of the person, whether a poet or even someone as lowly as a fisherman. Thought both poems "Old Song" and "The Meadows in Spring" are positive, it is possible that Fitzgerald was projecting as to what he wanted to drive the melancholia away, as opposed to what he had. It is possible that this lesson in what was good to drive the malaise away came from what he wishes he had.

Umar Khayyam was an 11th century Persian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He was never known as a poet. Khayyam enjoyed great respect in Persia. As a mathematician, he addressed several treatises of Euclid and wrote several text books on Algebra. His work indicates that the mathematics and the science of thought and physics were far advanced, when compared to the intellectuals of Europe during that time. His composed, it is believed, quatrains or rubaia, and therefore, the Rubaiyat is considered as a collection of quatrains. Edward Fitzgerald took about seventy five of these, translated them in such a way that they appear as a continuous poem, much to the consternation of other Persian and Middle Eastern scholars who believe that the Rubaiyat is a complete misrepresentation of what Umar Khayyam intended. However, through the efforts of Edward Fitzgerald were these works made available to the English speaking public, such that a discussion of the Rubaiyat became commonplace.

The translations are supposed to be a work of genius and are considered so visionary that Umar Khayyam almost came to be recognized by some as a poet of the English language. In composing this Rubaiyat, Fitzgerald has stuck to the rhyme scheme that characterizes a quatrain -- aaba. The first, second and fourth lines rhyme, the third does not. The Rubaiyat is about realism, which means that sadness, frustration, anger and pessimism will always come to the fore.

This work begins with the recognition of the notion of our lives and how we see this life in the grand scheme of things. We have seen that this very notion governed most of the works of Clough and Thomson. That they saw life as merely a dream or a sequence of dream in the grand scheme that was death. Here too, a vague allusion is made to the shortness life. It seems therefore that all of life is condensed into a day. Time is short. The fruit of life is identified as a grape, from which wine is made, and of which, one must drink to the fullest. And there is no time to tarry. Life has to be indulged in from the moments of dawn.

It is interesting that the beginning quatrains use the living life to the fullest using the symbol of wine; as we shall se later in this epic, grape and wine, the attendant hedonism and the waste also become a symbol for whatever is wrong with life. This might be a pessimistic view, but also one that cautions: over-indulgence leads to instances of malfeasance, and if man is not ready to get over this addiction, he is doomed to failure.

The sky is symbolized as an overturned cup. A stone thrown at this cup renders a crack in it, from which a shaft of light enters -- signifying dawn, first striking the minaret of the Sultan's palace, which is no doubt the tallest structure in the land.

And Lo! The Hunter of the East has caught

The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light.

It is also as if people are thirsting for life. The darkness has been kept away from living their lives, other than the symbolism; there is no other reason for these people to pound on the tavern doors hoping that the "cups of liquor" that is life will not run dry. One reason to believe that this is symbolic is because there is no other reason for people to literally crowd around taverns waiting to drink. Also, the poet proclaims that "they have very little time; and when they leave, they cannot return once more.

The Tavern shouted -- "Open then the Door!

You know how little while we have to stay,

And, once departed, may return no more.

It is very interesting that Umar Khayyam uses alcohol as his symbolism for life. During ancient times in Persia, there was a healthy mix of Zoroastrians (also called Farsis) and Muslims. Later in the poem, we hear of the Muezzin calls to prayer. This call to prayer is followed in every Islamic country. This call is made through a loudspeaker five times a day, according to the Islamic dictate. But several of the names that are in use in the poem, Jamshyd, Kaikobad, Kaikhosru and Pehlevi are distinctly Farsi.

Umar Khayyam lived a life of a Muslim in a Muslim dominated country. Historically, by this time, Farsis had been driven out the country through genocide. Several of these Farsis, fled to India and make their home on the West Coast of India.

Presumably, he enjoyed the respect of the Sultan, because he was treated according to his status of an intellectual. There is no evidence that he was in anyway molested for his beliefs and writing, yet, by going against the Islamic teachings of not to touch alcohol, he creates controversy by using alcohol to symbolize life.

There is a sense of urgency on the dawning of the day, and the realization that life is very short. The upturned cup might soon blanket life in the cover of night or death my steal when least expected.

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring

The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little way

To fly -- and Lo! The Bird is on the Wing.

Khayyam tries to urge his fellow men to indulge in life. Other's do not share his sense of urgency and the poet asks that we leave them be. He knows that they will live to regret their decision to not be proactive with life.

Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:

Let Rustum lay about him as he will,

or Hatim Tai cry Supper -- heed them not.

In the next few stanzas, the poet describes a paradise. But all is not well in this place. This is a paradise of realism. Here everything is taken in stride. There is a note of optimism here, perhaps as a prelude to a fall.

There are several aspects to this paradise. One is the sense of equality: here is no distinction between prince and pauper.

Where name of Slave and Sultan scarce is known,

This paradise is about the celebration of life's simplicity. As long as the basic needs are met and there is someone to love, one is not afraid of anything.

This is also about the cyclical nature of life and the mercilessness of death.

Whose Doorways are alternate Night and Day,

How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp

Abode his Hour or two, and went his way.

No matter who is king, this earth eventually swallows them whole. The only certainty is the firmness and solidity of the earth and the firmament. Men have hopes. Some of these are realized, other are crushed. Each of man's endeavors, which might not bring him lasting happiness, adds on to this eternal cycle of life. Indeed, according to Khayyam, the reddest of roses is fertilized by the blood of the mightiest of kings. The prettiest hyacinth that adorns a garden came from a loss to someone or was fertilized by the tears of others.

Sometimes think that never blows so red

The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled;

That every Hyacinth the Garden wears

Dropt in its Lap from some once lovely Head.

Some people are unhappy, but their unhappiness contributes to grand scheme that is mankind, enabling us to learn, mend our ways and even prosper. There is a caution to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Certainly, one may spend time fixated on sad events of the past. Or waste the time here on earth pessimistically worrying what the future might bring. But that does not help humankind. The poet decides that if he did not enjoy today but spend it fixated, worrying and despondent; he might not wake up tomorrow. If he died, there would be a regret that he did not have time to celebrate what he once had. for, he would be one with the ages.

TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears

To-morrow? -- Why, to-morrow I may be Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.

Khayyam talks about the inevitability of life. Do not be afraid he counsels, because death must certainly follow life. This is the cause of his frequent admonition that one should not take life lying down, because death is around the corner.

Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,

And one by one crept silently to Rest.

His advice: live your life, then when it is time to move on, consider the sleep of death as a rest for travails and the weary travels. Then move on and let somebody else take your place, upon this couch, one calls earth.

Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth

Descend, ourselves to make a Couch -- for whom?

And Khayyam continues to expound on this that life has to be enjoyed before people turn to dust. He invokes the rule of Islamic teaching. He believes that this is what the Muezzin tells when he makes his daily call to prayer. That life is not of the past or the hereafter, but of the present.

Alike for those who for to-DAY prepare,

And those that after a to-MORROW stare,

Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries

Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!"

And again, he decries and criticizes the Islamic prophets who believed that everything flowed from the past into the afterlife. He believed that there is no tangible evidence of it and that these stalwarts who had prophesied about "Two Worlds" are now dead and buried.

Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn

Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.

This is once again contrary to Islamic law, which teaches that suffering in this world and adherence to the will of Allah will ensure that the rewards in Paradise are eternal. Once again here, as in the symbolism of Life as Alcohol, Umar Khayyam departs from Islamic precepts.

Khayyam expounds on the same pessimistic ideals that Clough uses. This pessimism comes from an uncertainty. But Khayyam's response is different from Clough and Fitzgerald. While Thomson, on seeing the golden sand besides the flowing river, instead of enjoying what he saw, was stuck wondering of the origin and destination of the river and the sand and whether it came from a distant land which might have been filled with darkness. This darkness would not allow the sand to appear the color of gold, not would it cause the river to twinkle as it flowed. Khayyam is aware of the uncertainty of life and that life could be shortened by day's end (at least symbolically); but he whole heartedly realizes that there is no point in dwelling on the uncertainties.

Like Thomsom he too pondered on what the origins of nature were, where the winds blew from, but he was not concerned of these higher matters.

Nor whence like Water willy-nilly flowing:

And out of it, as Wind along the Waste, know not whither willy-nilly blowing.

Khayyam mentions this from experiences. He believes that as a young man, he had cause to learn from wise men, doctors and saints.

Myself when young did eagerly frequent

Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument

With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,

And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:

But he also realized that theorizing did have its faults it one fixated only on the theories and did not put them into practice. Certainly, he learned what he could, and then went out and acted upon it. Some times he bore fruit, at other times he did not. There is a resignation that such was life. He did not fixate on his failures. He realized that when he had paid his dues and lived his life, he acknowledged that he would die and others would take his place.

In the next few stanzas, the poet talks about his foibles, namely, the times when he attempted to try and find the answers to life's most profound questions. Khayyam's thesis, we realize now is that life should be enjoyed as is, because of its uncertainty. But he also believes strongly, that no matter what one's intellect or richness, it is a fool's errand to try and understand the nuances and uncertainties of life. To wit, it is presumptive and impertinent for someone to believe that they might attempt to understand life, let along succeed. Khayyam is sorry for his foolhardiness and he apologizes for his "impertinence."

He does relate his experiences in trying to find out more about life, other then merely living it as best he could. This met with disaster. He found out that despite his best efforts, he could not understand fate, why it befell some people one way and others in another way. He was felled in his attempts to understand and conquer death.

And many Knots unravel'd by the Road;

But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate.

Every attempt on his part was met with failure. He talks about reaching door for which he had no key, or being confronted by a veil, behind which the presumptive answers were, except, surprisingly this veil was opaque for him.

There was a Door to which I found no Key:

There was a Veil past which I could not see:

Finally, in torment he railed against the Heavens, asking why God let his children "stumble around in the darkness (ignorance)" and what was needed. The answer he got brought him no closer to the truth. "Blind understanding,"

Asking, "What Lamp had Destiny to guide

Her little Children stumbling in the Dark?"

And -- "A blind Understanding!" Heav'n replied.

A which one might interpret as acceptance and avowal to the will of God. This was followed by a stark admonition: to drink from the cup of life, because such an opportunity once lost (in death) would never become available again. Indeed, every one of God's creation spoke about the same thing.

How Time is slipping underneath our Feet:

Unborn to-MORROW, and dead YESTERDAY,

Why fret about them if to-DAY be sweet!

At this point, one might believe that Khayyam has learned his lesson. He realizes that there is no point in fighting that which he cannot control. He abandons any hope of trying to reason or philosophies on the cause of our existence. He decides to live life as it is.

And from then on he merely celebrates life.

He believes that the essence of life and the logic becomes clearer. He believes that acknowledging existence can solve all problems. It brings together warring Islamic sects and can even realize the dreams of alchemists and turn base metals into gold.

The Grape that can with Logic absolute

The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:

The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice

Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute:

When the angel of life shows up with some wine, he drinks deeply and drinks plentifully and he sees fulfillment, but he also cautions that given life's uncertainties, the angel will come by with a "darker draught," which could be the end of one's life.

And when the Angel with his darker Draught

Draws up to Thee -- take that, and do not shrink.

But just as he has come to a resignation of accepting life as it is, he asks that we do not fight the inevitable and shy away from death. Because this is merely the cyclical nature whereby we go into the earth, nourish it and fertilize another generation.

He uses a perfect example of a chessboard, where all of humankind was mere pawns. (Note that chess was invented in India, but popularized in Persia).

The chessboard with its black and white squares denotes the ups and downs in our lives. And in this great game of life, once in a while the chess player decides that our place on this earth is forfeit. It is then that we are removed from this realm of life and placed in the closet. Khayyam counsels us to accept this, because it is inevitable.

Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days

Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays:

Khayyam believes fervently and is sure that there is no turning back on the deterministic turn of fate and destiny. He has struggled with the Why. He does not know why things happen the way they do to some people and not to others. But he is sure about the answer to the question: What. He believes that around the time was Earth was created along with the Heaven's, everything was predestined.

The twists and turns, the failings and foibles of every man's life were known. It was written, if stone, one might will, when the knell of Death would toll for each one of us.

Yea, the first Morning of Creation wrote

What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.

There is no way to turn this around. Acts of kindness and piety or feats of strength are powerless before what is to be. One cannot, according to the poet, take back what has already been written.

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Life goes on and will the end of time. Trying to change the will or God or one's destiny is going to results in complete failure,

In exploring the pessimism that Fitzgerald through Khayyam's work, one must recognize two issues. One that Khayyam is pessimistic because of his awareness of the futility in trying to intellectualize the vagaries of life. He fights against this feeling and offers up him self in resignation. On the other hand, some of his pessimism comes from the fact that despite his best efforts, he is unable to change people's minds, those who rail against what cannot be muted. He relates the story of a time when he visited a potter's shed around Ramadan.

In that old Potter's Shop I stood alone

With the clay Population round in Rows.

Ramadan is an Islamic festival that lasts for two cycles of the moon, roughly forty days and is marked by penance and fasting. The rigors of fasting are so strong, that a penitent might not even swallow his own saliva. The process starts at dawn, where people might partake of a meal. After the sun rises, there is no eating or drinking. Then when the sun goes down, Muslims may eat their meals. Praying five times a day is compulsory. Ramadan's eve occurs when the new moon, even a small sliver that shows a new cycle of the moon's phases is seen. The next day is then spent in celebration. The penance having been completed, the day is spent in partaking in and sharing of rich and choice foods.

This is different from the other two major festivals, Eid ul Adah, which involves ritual sacrifices of animals, and Muharram, which marks the death of the Prophet Mohammed, and where Muslim men flog, cut and otherwise mutilate themselves in a demonstration of their sorrow.

Khayyam relates a story of the futility of how he wants people to view life by using an example of a potter and his pots. One might consider the potter playing the role of God. He has created the pot by using a combination of tools and clay from the ground. The pots are perhaps waiting to be sold in the market, having just been removed from the kilns. The pots begin (much to Khayyam's consternation) philosophizing about their origins.

And suddenly one more impatient cried

Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?"

They wish for their lives to be changed. They proceed to bargain, telling of all their service, for which they believe that they deserve a longer life. They attempt to change the course of history because they feel they are deserving of a longer life and better rewards. Each pot, for Khayyam, represents the kind of argument that a person might put forth in attempting to refute what God has wrought from the beginning of time to try and change the course of his or her destiny.

The first question challenges the nature of the potter. The second complains that is it not fair that thought it was created from the earth, it's eventual and inevitable destination was to be broken down and crushed back into the earth.

That He who subtly wrought me into Shape

Should stamp me back to common Earth again."

Another pot wonders why is it that a naughty boy for whom a pot had lovingly provided his sustenance in the form of food and drink might destroy the pot in a rage.

Why, ne'er a peevish Boy

Would break the Bowl from which he drank in Joy;

Shall He that made the Vessel in pure Love

And Fancy, in an after Rage destroy!"

Another complains that he is used to holding something more valuable. This can be considered as bargaining. A person believes that they are capable of much, more they might endear themselves to the maker.

My Clay with long oblivion is gone dry:

But, fill me with the old familiar Juice,

Methinks I might recover by-and-bye!"

The next part involves a little bit of Christian theocracy. And indeed, both Clough and Thomson have expressed their frustration with the following the Messianic dogma of the second coming as shown by the Book of Revelation. And they believed that people might be tested for being good or evil and thus get their just desserts. They believe that too many people who believe this are given to living not only a lie but in suffering for the reward that might never come.

Here, one pot provides a sort of a variation on the same theme. The pot avers that he has heard that at the end there will be some test (Islamic religion also talks about the rewards of paradise for the just and the martyrs). The pot is afraid that he might be found not wanting and be case into the fires of hell. But then the pot attempts to reassure itself that the potter was a person who would be beneficial and kind to all.

And daub his Visage with the Smoke of Hell;

They talk of some strict Testing of us -- Pish!

He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well."

Khayyam would clearly not be in agreement with this claim, as he has already declared that there was no use in fixating on the past or worrying about the future, as all this nonsense of two worlds (from the past and the future) was utter nonsense. What was important was the here and the now. At this time, the pots discover that the new moon is in the offing and they turn their minds towards it, forgetting their discussions about what might be or what once was.

Khayyam is confident that he is ready for death whenever it should come about. He asks that he be buried in some garden plot where he might enjoy the sights and smells and mingle with some of those fragrances that others might enjoy.

And in a Windingsheet of Vine-leaf wrapt,

So bury me by some sweet Garden-side.

That ev'n my buried Ashes such a Snare

Of Perfume shall fling up into the Air

It is here that Khayyam finally realizes the folly of his ways. In a sense then Wine, which has served as a symbol of life as it is offered now becomes an over indulgence, which has led him astray. As a devout Muslim, temperance was called for. He never agreed with this, and now it is time to repent. The friends that he believed would stay with him have now abandoned him.

Indeed the Idols I have lov'd so long

Have done my Credit in Men's Eye much wrong:

He was sworn to living by the strict Islamic precepts. He believed that he had made these choices while he was sober. But then he was taken in with the freshness of spring, the call of temptations and the notion that he would be enjoying life had taken a hold on his life that he never realized how far he had gone until it could be too late. He is truly sorry; but he is even more afraid that his repentance may have no meaning.

And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand

My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore.

He has come to this realization because spring is now past. The leisure time that he had to enjoy himself is now gone. And now when he has had the time to contemplate his life and is actions, he realizes that the life that he chose for himself was not appropriate.

Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose!

That Youth's sweet-scented Manuscript should close!

The Nightingale that in the Branches sang,

Ah, whence, and whither flown again, who knows!

This is when the poet begins to make the same bargaining choices that he so severely criticized. In despair, he wants to turn back the clock. He believes that together with the woman he loves, he might change the direction his life is going. He hopes he can mould destiny to what he wants.

To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,

Would not we shatter it to bits -- and then Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!

With the coming of spring, he realizes that even the moon that he relied on to provide him with a guiding light will be there no more.

Ah, Moon of my Delight who know'st no wane,

The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again:

How oft hereafter rising shall she look

There is a disconnect in how these quatrains were put together by Fitzgerald. At first, one would seem that the wine of life was how life should be and Khayyam makes good arguments that convince the reader of this. Around the 60th quatrain there is a reversal, the symbolism of wine became wine and the insistence of life being lived to the fullest took a backseat to Islamic dogma.

There are two ways in which we might view this. One is that to combat his despondency, Khayyam decided to indulge himself much against the wishes of Islam. Certainly, two paragraphs were devoted to how someone as well respected within Islamist Persian circles would so openly flout Islamic teachings. This was his way of combating his pessimistic outlook on life. On the other hand, it would seem that Khayyam might indicate that ultimate salvation lies in the hands of Islam. One cannot be sure if the last five quatrains are autobiographical, whether Khayyam went through levels of soul-searching and extremes of sadness, torment and frustration and the initial quatrains of the Rubaiyat are more lessons for his readers on the dangers of indulgence.

Conclusion

Clough, Thomson and Fitzgerald wrote about pessimism. Fitzgerald cannot be strictly considered as a pessimist because the bulk of his work was the transliteration of the work of another renaissance person, who might be pessimistic by default or who might have avowed pessimistic for philosophical or theological reasons. Clough's and Thomson's body of work is stupendous. But it would seem that their lives in some ways mirror each other. Both were born and brought up in not very happy circumstances. They lived lives mired in controversy and sadness. They were lonely and kept away from society. They could not fit into society and today's neurologists and psychiatrists would perhaps diagnose them with one or more psychological disorders and prescribe medicines to raise their spirits or prescribe counseling.

But from their pain came work that causes the reader to reevaluate his or her own life. The quest to find the meaning of life is fraught with difficulties. It does not help if this is made all the worse if we are constantly challenged by our religion, especially if we wish to live our lives through religious principles, which are in constant conflict with modern life. We could completely avoid religion, eschewing suffering for the here and the now. But then we run the risk that Omar Khayyam's protagonist went through, over indulging himself until it was impossible to rescue him self back on to the path of righteousness.