espresso | song of solomon

ESPRESSO is inspired in large part by the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), a book in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. This is a unique text in the scriptures, as it references no law, wisdom, or teachings of God. Instead it represents the voices of two lovers praising and yearning for each other.  While there are many ways to look at this text, here are some of the most common interpretations and breakdowns. 

Some notes on Song of Songs/Song of Solomon

• The Song of Solomon is often interpreted as an allegory for God’s relationship with his people, especially in Jewish traditions.
• In Christian tradition it is also considered a romantic song celebrating sexual intimacy between husband and wife, as well as an image for Christ as the bridegroom to his Church.
• The original title, Song of Songs, uses the repetition of “songs” as a superlative, showing it as the most beautiful of all songs.
• There is little agreement among scholars about whether there is a unified story or intention from the book, as it is very fragmented and may be written by different authors or about different people.

Structure of the Song of Songs

• Introduction
• names the piece as the Song of Songs and introduces the lovers
• Dialogue between the lovers
• the two lovers speak to each other, offering compliments and flirtations invitations to one another
• The woman addresses the daughters of Jerusalem
• the woman speaks to a group of women she calls the “daughters of Jerusalem”, describing her nighttime search for her lover that turns out to be a dream
• Sighting of a royal wedding procession
• a wedding procession for King Solomon is described
• The man describes the woman
• he describes his lover and her beauty, comparing her to a “locked garden”, and she invites him to enter and eat the fruit
• The woman addresses the daughters of Jerusalem
• again she recounts a dream of seeking her lover to the women, and recounts his attractive features
• The man describes his lover, who visits him
• this part is considered possibly corrupt
• The beauty of the woman is praised
• outsiders praise her
• Appendix
• the woman compares love to death – it is relentless and jealous