Poetry in the «Song of Songs»: A Literary Analysis (Studies in Biblical Literature)

This ground-breaking study explores the structure and literary figures in the biblical Hebrew poetry of the Song of Songs . These figures include simile, metaphor, paronomasia, parallelism, sensory cluster, fertility language - flowers, spices, and plants as well as animals and images of wealth - and many other literary devices, delineated but not limited to how they also appear in classical literature as defined by Aristotle, Quintilian, and others. This biblical poetry is also compared to the Greek poetry of Sappho and Egyptian love poetry as well as to the Ramayana and the Kamasutra. The Song of Songs is discreetly yet firmly interpreted as erotic literature. Prologue 1 Focus, History of Song of Songs, Hermeneutics and Its Lasting Influence 2 The Figurative Language of Desire: “Your lovemaking is better than wine..." 3 Subtle Wordplay: Concealed Paronomasia and Secrets 4 Sensory Imagery: “He shall lie between my breasts” 5 The Lovers’ Garden: Fertility Imagery in Flowers, Fruits and Spices as Eroticism 6 Animal Imagery: Stags, Gazelles and Flocks as Virility and Wealth 7 The Lovers’ Banquet: “Feed me with sweet cakes ... Your loving is better than wine” 8 The Lovers’ Dualisms: Binary Language in Poetic Parallelism 9 Protection, Power and Priceless Worth: Love’s Display of Wealth, Authority and Security 10 The Lovers’ Transformations: Similes 11 The Lovers’ Synthesis: Metaphors Focus, history of the book, hermeneutics and its influence The figurative language of desire : "your lovemaking is better than wine" Subtle wordplay : concealed paronomasia and secrets Sensory imagery : "he shall lie between my breasts" The lovers' garden : fertility imagery as eroticism in flowers, fruit and spices Animal imagery : stags, gazelles and flocks as virility and wealth The lovers' banquet : "feed me sweet cakes" The lovers' dualisms : binary language in poetic parallelisms Protection, power and priceless worth : love's safeguards The lovers' transformations : similes The lovers' synthesis : metaphors.