Song of Solomon Intertextuality, tenderness and irony

 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

 A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, henna with spikenard.

 “Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south! Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits.”

Intertextuality  Januarie echoes (unconsciously?) the Song of Solomon as he invites May into his pleasure garden. Here we see Chaucer’s intertextuality at work - he weaves together different strands to create a mosaic effect in his long poem.

Why?  In general, the competing and complemetary voices of the text make it a rich tapestry of familiar and less familiar sources of inspiration. A contemporary audience would be intimate with the Bible and may also have been familiar with the Italian romances.

 The audience would also have been au fait with the basic plot (always a basic plot!) of the fabliau as well as being familiar with the conventions of the courtly love narrative.

End of general point:  So, the effect is to please the listener/reader of the tale by creating extra depth and richness.

Specifically….  The use of the Bible as Januarie calls his wyf into his pleasure garden serves a dual purpose:  To remind us that January’s feelings for his wyf are genuine and so the coming cuckolding is made the more sad.  To create a local irony in order to complement the general irony of the entire tale.  The use of the Bible as Januarie calls his wyf into his pleasure garden serves a dual purpose:  To remind us that January’s feelings for his wyf are genuine and so the coming cuckolding is made the more sad.  To create a local irony in order to complement the general irony of the entire tale.

Irony - a reminder 1.a type of humour based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning 2.something said or written that uses sardonic humour 3.incongruity between what actually happens and what might be expected to happen, especially when this disparity seems absurd or laughable 4.something that happens that is incongruous with what might be expected to happen, especially when this seems absurd or laughable 1.a type of humour based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning 2.something said or written that uses sardonic humour 3.incongruity between what actually happens and what might be expected to happen, especially when this disparity seems absurd or laughable 4.something that happens that is incongruous with what might be expected to happen, especially when this seems absurd or laughable

Irony 2  Simply put: Januarie’s invocation of the Bible, or his echoing of a famous mystical passage, serves to highlight the baseness of his desires.  This reminds us of the earlier and potentially superficial reasons that Januarie gave for marriage: that it would cleanse his soul and allow him to reach heaven.  Simply put: Januarie’s invocation of the Bible, or his echoing of a famous mystical passage, serves to highlight the baseness of his desires.  This reminds us of the earlier and potentially superficial reasons that Januarie gave for marriage: that it would cleanse his soul and allow him to reach heaven.