Ambiguity in the Song of Songs

This thesis will explore the ambiguous nature of the Song of Songs, as it manifests itself in the narrative, the structure, the imagery, and the language of the Song. It will also propose the new interpretative possibilites that this ambiguity leads to, when it is approached asking the question "What does this poem do?" as opposed to "What does it say or mean?" The Song of Songs, whether through the eyes and minds of ancient or modern commentators, has been seen as portraying a mutual and exclusive love relationship, whether it was a relationship between God and his people, Israel, or Jesus and his Church, as was generally believed to be the case up until the middle of this century, or a relationship between two people, as has most often been the case since. Thus, any questions about the Song have principally centered on who the two main characters in the Song represent, or whether they represent anyone other than themselves. Unasked has been the initial question to be explored in this thesis: is the relationship depicted in the Song really mutual and exclusive or does it contain certain aspects that make it more ambiguous than that? This initial question will lead to an even less traditional one: is the relationship between what has been thought to be one couple in the Song, really multiple relationships between different people? Through the examination of these main questions, on the different levels of the Song, new insight will be gained into the spiritual nature of the Song