The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
LVIII explained
An angel appears at the tavern door, offering a vessel containing the essence of the grape, symbolizing divine or transcendent knowledge through wine.
What happens
An angel appears at the tavern door, offering a vessel containing the essence of the grape, symbolizing divine or transcendent knowledge through wine.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Themes in this chapter
- Hedonism and Wine
The grape offered by the angel represents the intoxicating and revelatory power of wine.
- The Quest for Meaning
The angel's offering suggests a search for deeper truth or enlightenment through sensory experience.
Characters to notice
- The Bonhomme
The speaker who encounters the angel at the tavern door.
Key passages
“And lately, by the Tavern Door agape, Came shining through the Dusk an Angel Shape Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and He bid me taste of it; and ’twas—the Grape!”
Recently, at the open tavern door, a radiant angel appeared in the twilight, carrying a vessel on his shoulder. He invited me to taste its contents, and it was the essence of the grape.
The angel's offering of the grape symbolizes a divine or mystical revelation through wine.
