Throughout much of the bimillennium that has passed since the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, Mary of Nazareth's share in the redemptive saga of her Divine Son has been celebrated in winged poetic imagery by poets who used their country's vernacular and the aesthetic literary ploys contemporary to their day in the composition of Marian praise poetry. As Clifford J Laube so movingly wrote, "Poets in all ages since the beginning of the Christian era have been prompt in praise of the Mother of God," (1961:1).
Mary prophesies in the Magnificat
When Mary prophesied in the Magnificat that 'from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me, Holy is His Name...'(Luke 1;48 - 49), she must have been aware, by a holy clairvoyancy, of the host of poets who down through the years would take a leading and loving part in the fulfilment of that prophecy.
Form of rhetoric used by English poets to express Marian poetry
Depending on the literary period in which the poetry was written, the forms of rhetoric used by English poets to express their Marian poetry range from heavy, sonorous, highly structured heroic stanzas to Marian lyrics and free verse.The lyrics are often thoughts captured on the wing and translated into verse. The verse may not always be metrical, structured, or rhyming. They may comprise no more than two or three lines; however, they may nevertheless give scope for profound meditation, since reflection is brought about by composition content rather than by its form or length.
Earliest extant English Marian poetry by Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf
The earliest extant English Marian poetry is found in the eighth century AD, and was composed by the Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf, who drew heavily on the impressive rhetoric of Greek and Latin songs of praise.
English lyric and the Middle Ages
When the English
lyric came into its own during the Middle Ages, the writer's name was very
seldom public knowledge. This may have been because the people
were for the most part illiterate. Having heard a poem, they might
have liked it, memorised it and recited it, having forgotten the author's name,
until some student of literature came along and recorded the poem's contents -
but not its author's name - for posterity. Whatever the reason
for the anonymity, the lyrics themselves embody a lightness of touch - as
distinct from a lightness of significance - which manifests a sense of
identification with Our Lady [1] on the part of the poets of the Middle
Ages.
A Marian fragrance in legend and ballad
This prompted Laube to write: 'The appealing impress of the Madonna was throughout the Middle Ages the ever-present poetry of Europe, the gentle symbol of its social and religious solidarity. Under its pervasive spell, a Marian fragrance found its way into legend and ballad, ' (1961:11) This early history set the scene for the magnificent flowering of Marian poetry which occurred in the twentieth centry, and will be dealt with in further blog posts.
Dr. Luky Whittle
Catherine Nicolette;
[1] *'Our Lady' is a term generally used. The term refers to Mary of Nazareth, otherwise known as the Virgin Mary; Theotokos; Notre Dame; St. Mary, the mother of Jesus; Madonna; the Madonna; Saint Mary; Mother Mary; Mary, the Mother of God. Mary was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee. She is identified in the New Testament [Mt. 1;16, 18-25] [Lk. 1;26-56], [2; 1-7].Christians of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God and the Theotokos, literally Birthgiver of God.
