Quatrain 50
Quatrain 50 of 75
“The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes,
But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;
And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field,
He knows about it all—HE knows—HE knows!”
Reflection · Winter
The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes — you did not ask to be thrown into the field. The ball doesn't negotiate the direction of the strike. And the repetition at the end — HE knows — HE knows — HE knows! — the three iterations moving from statement to emphasis to something close to accusation, or prayer, or both simultaneously.
He that toss'd Thee down into the Field is God or Fate or the universe. He knows. This is either the most comforting or the most disturbing fact in the Rubaiyat. The knowing implies intention. In winter the ball lies in a cold field. The player who tossed it knows why. You, the ball, do not know. And the cold is equally cold whether or not HE knows.