A woman in God’s ear: the feminine lyrical voice of Song of Songs in Spiritual Canticle, by St. John of the Cross

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the peculiar image of women conveyed by the Song of Songs, which retains all its transgressive power in Spiritual Canticle: a text which brings to the fore the vital relationship between the Spanish poet St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) and women, while placing the feminine lyrical voice on centre stage. The mystical allegory will serve in the Canticle to unleash a female voice that surprises with the unusual "freedom and force" with which it expresses itself, the same qualities that the human soul, in Saint John’s opinion, should be able to search for God and unite with Him. A religious reading that, however, collides with the literalness of a text full of images and references of marked erotic content, whose euphemistic meaning is undoubtful. And it is not easy to reconcile with that mystical vision, already subversive in itself. Hence the double transgressive character of the poetry of Saint John. Not only does it speak directly into God's ear, but it also speaks with a woman's voice. Although, in this sense, or the Canticle’s author did not move away from his biblical model that attracted him. It is perhaps the most universal character of Saint John’s poetry and the most intimate dialogue of love that makes this masterpiece of Renaissance literature even more captivating and which still fascinates us.