from The Rubaiyat" by Omar Khayyam
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter—and the Bird is on the Wing.

5 Whether at Naishapur or Babylon,1
Whether the Cup with sweet or bitter run,
The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop,
The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one.

· · ·

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
10 A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!2

Some for the Glories of This World; and some
Sigh for the Prophet’s Paradise to come;
15 Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go,
Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!

· · ·

For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That from his Vintage rolling Time hath prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
20 And one by one crept silently to rest.

And we, that now make merry in the Room
They left, and Summer dresses in new bloom
Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth
Descend—ourselves to make a Couch—for whom?

25 Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans3 Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and—sans End!

· · ·

Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!
30 One thing at least is certain—This Life flies;
One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass’d the door of Darkness through,
35 Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.

· · ·

We are no other than a moving row
Of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go
Round with the Sun-illumined Lantern held
40 In Midnight by the Master of the Show;

But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days;
Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays,
And one by one back in the Closet lays.

45 The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes,4
But Here or There as strikes the Player goes;
And He that toss’d you down into the Field,
He knows about it all—He knows—HE knows!

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
50 Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

1 - Naishapur or Babylon—The ancient cities of Naishapur and Babylon were located in present-day Iran and Iraq, respectively.
2 - enow!—enough
3 - Sans—French word meaning “without”
4 - Ayes and Noes—Yeses and Nos

Question 1 (1 point)
Read lines 1 and 2 from the excerpt.

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring / Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:

What do the lines show about the speaker?

Question 1 options:

He is trying to persuade the reader.


He is worried about getting burned.


He is trying to apologize for something.


He is upset about the change of seasons.

Question 2 (1 point)
In lines 26 and 27, what does the repetition of the word “Dust” emphasize?

Question 2 options:

the waste of talent


the finality of death


the disappearance of pain


the tediousness of existence

Question 3 (1 point)
Read lines 49 and 50 in the box.

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on . . .

Based on the lines, what does “The Moving Finger” write?

Question 3 options:

rules of a game


a type of poetry


religious mandates


the destiny of a person

Question 4 (1 point)
Based on the excerpt, what does the speaker believe is most important?

Question 4 options:

relationships with family


living in the moment


intellectual curiosity


loyalty to a religion

Question 5 (1 point)
Which two pieces of evidence best support the answer to question 4?

Question 5 options:

“For some we loved, the loveliest and the best / That from his Vintage rolling Time hath prest,” (lines 17 and 18)


“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, / Before we too into the Dust descend;” (lines 25 and 26)


“One thing at least is certain—This Life flies;” (line 30)


“Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays,” (line 43)


“The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes,” (line 45)