Introduction to The Song of Songs in European Poetry (Twelfth to Seventeenth Centuries): Translations, Appropriations, Rewritings

Introduction to The Song of Songs in European Poetry (Twelfth to Seventeenth Centuries): Translations, Appropriations, Rewritings. The Introduction underscores the role of the biblical Song of Songs in the rise and development of European poetry, and then presents and discusses the content and value of the volume. Coming from different academic fields and backgrounds, and approaching the topic from different perspectives, the authors of the fourteen essays contained in this volume make this book an important tool for the study of the relationship between the Song of Songs and European poetry. The wide time-span it covers allows for an appreciation of both the persistence and the evolution of the influence exercised by the Song of Songs over European poetry. Similarly, the geographical and linguistic diversity of the texts examined favours a fruitful comparative perspective, capable of revealing the common elements as well as the specificity of the different traditions’ approaches to the biblical book. Finally, the variety of poetic genres explored and the related differences in the appropriation and reshaping of the Song of Songs underscore the multifaceted potential inherent in the book, able to inspire a multitude of diverse responses and to offer itself as a means to express a vast array of artistic, religious, philosophical, and even political intentions. To conclude, by casting new light on a phenomenon whose scope is yet to be fully acknowledged, this collection of essays contributes to a renewed awareness of the relevance and complexity of the role played by the Song of Songs in the development of European thought, culture, spirituality, and literature.