O Quam Pulchra Es

Is Monteverdi’s O Quam Pulchra Es about Mary’s devotion to the divine? Could a convincing argument be made of this through analyzation of the song’s lyrics and musical material? If so, how does this depict Mary in a divine sense? In a previous short essay of this piece, I catalogued Monteverdi’s agonizing denial of the final in the vocal line. I also used the musical material to suggest that the piece models a Marian Allegory of the Song of Songs. In this piece, as well as countless others, the relationship between G-d and the Virgin Mary painted Mary in many lights, which include an eroticized beauty, a humble saintly figure and as a maternal figure. She took on all these personas so that churchgoers could identify with her more. This essay

The article goes on to state that “a lexicographer observed that snakes are insidious, cold and contemptible, while serpents are terrible, powerful and beautiful,” and that serpent “sounds more alien and is usually reserved for large or venomous specimens (Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe).” Describing the serpent as “venomous” indicates a serpent’s evil nature. The words “powerful” and “beautiful” come from how it has been a symbol for both of these things in ancient folklore. An example of the serpent’s power that is found in the article is the serpent being a symbol of the ancient cult of the Mother Goddess. This tale found in Genesis 3, deals with its transformation from a creature of wisdom to one that is despised, although many have tried to reclaim it has a significant creature for women to identify with. One of the most commonly told stories featuring a serpent that the Mother Goddess alludes to is the tale of Adam and Eve’s encounter with G-ds forbidden fruit. In the Garden of Eden, where all of G-ds creatures lived free of hardship, was a clever serpent. G-d originally designed to serpent with arms and legs and the serpent was considered the second most intelligent creature in the Garden of Eden. The