# Omar Khayyám — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám character guide > Omar Khayyám in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Hakim Omar Khayyám, Omar, Khayyám **First appearance:** 0000-omar-khayy-m-the-astronomer-poet-of-persia ## Snapshot Astronomer-poet of Naishápúr who stitched the tents of science, then traded court favor for a quiet corner, a pension, and verses about fate. ## Who they are Omar moves through the Rubáiyát as its narrator and central voice, a scholar who once shared a schoolroom with a future vizier and a future assassin's victim. Offered title or office, he asks instead only to live under the shadow of his friend's fortune and spread the advantages of Science — a refusal that defines his temperament. That same man who reformed the calendar and wrote tables for Malik Shah also wrote lines about grief's furnace and the broker of Hope selling him for nothing, and the tension between those two selves is what the poem keeps returning to. ## Relationships ### [Monsieur Nicolas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/monsieur_nicolas) _psychological_ Monsieur Nicolas is the French translator and interpreter of Omar's poetry, creating a scholarly yet obsessive bond with the poet's work. ### [The Bonhomme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/the_bonhomme) _friendship_ The Bonhomme is a jovial, common-sense companion who shares wine and philosophical banter with Omar. ### [The Súfi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/the_sufi) _rivalry_ The Súfi represents mystical orthodoxy, often clashing with Omar's skeptical, hedonistic worldview. ### [Háfiz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/hafiz) _friendship_ Háfiz is a fellow poet and kindred spirit, sharing a love for wine, love, and lyrical defiance. ### [Nizám ul Mulk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/nizam_ul_mulk) _professional_ Nizám ul Mulk is the powerful vizier and former schoolmate who patronizes Omar's work at court. ### [Lucretius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/lucretius) _psychological_ Lucretius is a philosophical echo from antiquity, representing Epicurean materialism that resonates with Omar's own thoughts. ### [Hasan Ben Sabbáh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/hasan_ben_sabbah) _rivalry_ Hasan Ben Sabbáh is a former friend turned fanatical leader of the Assassins, opposing Omar's free-thinking ways. ### [Nizám ul Mulk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/nizam_ul_mulk) _professional_ Nizám ul Mulk is the powerful vizier and former schoolmate who patronizes Omar's work at court. ## In the story ### [Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/omar-khayy-m-the-astronomer-poet-of-persia) Portrayed as a philosopher and poet of honest skepticism, who rejected mysticism and embraced sensual pleasure as a response to a world governed only by destiny. ### [The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/the-rub-iy-t-of-omar-khayy-m) The poet and astronomer whose quatrains form the entire chapter, expressing his carpe diem philosophy and existential doubts. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/vii) Speaker of the quatrain, urging carpe diem. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/x) Speaker of the quatrain, dismissing past heroes. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xii) The speaker of the quatrain, expressing a desire for a simple, pleasurable life in nature with a beloved. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xiii) Speaker of the quatrain, advocating for present enjoyment over future hopes. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xix) Speaker of the quatrain, musing on mortality and the transience of life. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxi) Speaker of the quatrain, addressing the beloved. ### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxvii) The speaker recounts his own youthful search for truth among scholars and mystics. ### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxviii) The speaker who sows wisdom and contemplates the fleeting nature of life. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxix) The speaker of the quatrain, expressing existential bewilderment. ### [The Forbidden Wine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxx) The speaker of the quatrain, contemplating existential questions and the solace of wine. ### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxxi) The speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on a spiritual journey and the limits of human understanding. ### [XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxxiv) The speaker who questions the nature of the self and the divine. ### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxxv) The speaker who leans to the urn and receives its message. ### [XXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxxix) Speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on the hidden, redemptive power of wine. ### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xlii) The voice of the quatrain, contemplating mortality and the fleeting nature of pleasure. ### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xliv) The speaker of the quatrain, contemplating the soul's potential liberation from the body. ### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xlvi) The speaker of the quatrain, contemplating the ephemeral nature of life. ### [XLIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xlix) The speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on the futility of metaphysical inquiry. ### [LIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/liv) The voice behind the quatrain, advocating for carpe diem and the pleasures of wine. ### [LV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lv) The speaker who divorces Reason and marries the Daughter of the Vine. ### [LVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lvi) The speaker reflects on his own intellectual limitations and his devotion to wine. ### [LVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lvii) The speaker who reflects on his own calendrical reforms, reinterpreting them as a philosophical act of focusing only on the present. ### [LXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxvi) The poet who sends his Soul on a quest to understand the afterlife. ### [LXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxvii) Speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on the illusory nature of Heaven and Hell. ### [LXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxxv) The speaker and philosophical voice of the quatrain. ### [LXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxxvi) The speaker, reflecting on the Vine's hold on his being. ### [LXXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxxx) The speaker of the quatrain, expressing a theological complaint against divine predestination. ### [XCI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xci) The speaker of the quatrain, expressing a personal wish for his own death and burial. ### [XCII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xcii) Speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on the enduring power of wine from beyond the grave. ### [XCIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xciii) Speaker lamenting the cost of his hedonistic pursuits. ### [XCIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xciv) The speaker of the quatrain, reflecting on the weakness of his own resolutions. ### [XCIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xcix) Speaker of the quatrain, expressing a desire to reshape reality with Love. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters/omar_khayyam - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/characters