Edward Fitzgerald - Icon Profile | Alexandria
Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883) was an English writer and poet whose singular translation of Omar Khayyám's Rubáiyát transformed both Persian literature's reception in the West and Victorian literary culture, though his own life remained characterized by scholarly seclusion and quiet unconventionality. Born Edward Purcell at Bredfield House, Suffolk, he later adopted his mother's surname, FitzGerald, reflecting the complex interface between identity and creativity that would mark his literary career.
First encountering Persian literature in the 1850s through Professor Edward Cowell at Oxford, FitzGerald embarked on what would become his magnum opus. The 1859 publication of his loose translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám initially passed unnoticed, with copies selling for a penny in a bookstore's clearance bin. However, this apparent failure preceded one of Victorian literature's most remarkable resurrections: discovered by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite circle, the work gradually achieved cult status, ultimately becoming one of the most popular and frequently quoted poems of the 19th century.
FitzGerald's interpretation of Khayyám's verses, while departing significantly from literal translation, captured the spirit of philosophical hedonism and metaphysical doubt that resonated profoundly with Victorian intellectual uncertainties. His rendering transformed the Persian mathematician-poet's medieval quatrains into a unified Victorian meditation on mortality, pleasure, and cosmic insignificance. The famous lines "The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on" entered permanent cultural consciousness, influencing countless writers and thinkers.
FitzGerald's legacy extends beyond his celebrated translation. His letters, published posthumously, reveal a keen literary mind and offer invaluable insights into Victorian intellectual life. His unconventional lifestyle – living modestly despite considerable wealth, maintaining intense platonic friendships, and pursuing scholarly interests in relative isolation – has fascinated biographers and scholars. Modern critics continue to debate the nature of his translation methodology and its influence on cross-cultural literary exchange, while his work raises enduring questions about the boundaries between translation and original creation. The story of FitzGerald and his Rubáiyát remains a compelling testament to how seemingly minor literary events can precipitate major cultural transformations.