The Poem in the Bible seems to be closely linked to T-Mo's Song of Solomon. Let's start off with the obvious connections:
1)The Name...
just kidding. That's too obvious.
But it is a love story between King Solomon and a Shulammite woman (she's black). And in many ways, it closely parallels the relationship between Milkman and Hagar/Pilate. It's a story of desire in which a Bride seems to be searching for her ideal bridegroom (Hagar awaiting Milkman). When she gets him (Ch. 2) she begins to think of him endlessly, in an almost obsessive manner, much like the mutual passion and lust in SOS. Chapter 3 of Song of Songs closely parallels T-Mo when the bride awaits her groom on her bed, but he is not there. This is strikingly similar to the story of Hagar's source of misery. Ch.4 of the biblical text is heavily centered on lust - essentially superficial love. This too is a direct parallel to Milkman and Hagar...
Then as it continues there is mention of other significant parallels:
- navel
-breastfeeding
-carnal love
I agree with what Austin said about the relationship between King Solomon and this woman in Song of Songs paralleling the relationship between Milkman and Hagar. The part of the Song of Songs in which this similarity was especially apparent was when the woman goes through the streets looking for her lover (King of Solomon) because - if I interpreted it correctly - she thinks she remembers him coming to her in a dream. The woman can't seem to find her lover and asks people in the streets if she has seen him; she compares him to jewels, animals, and other items of value. After I read this part, I immediately thought back to the part in Song of Solomon when Hagar runs through the town buying new clothing because she thinks she has discovered the reason why Milkman left her.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as I continued to read the rest of the Song of Songs, the similarity between the relationship described in the biblical version and Milkman and Hagar's relationship seemed to be weaker than I had originally thought. The biblical version describes the relationship between the woman and her lover as reciprocal. Although Milkman and Hagar's relationship was reciprocal for part of the time, the majority of the time it was one-sided, with Hagar pulling most of the weight. I might be reading into this too much, but it was just a thought.
I think that was an insightful comment by Danielle. I agree that the relationship in chapter 4 parallels that of Milkman and Hagar (as a lustful, superficial one, somewhat like that of Bertha and Rochester).Later I realized that the relationship described in Song of Songs is a little too deep and real to mirror Milkman's.
ReplyDeleteAlso I feel that Song of Songs is really lusty, and only describes the the physical aspects of their relationship. However, Milkman and Hagar's relationship has another dimension- especially since Hagar became so emotionally attached to Milkman.
P.S. I don't remember Ms. Siegel telling us to blog. Were we supposed to?
Shweta i don't either.... but this kinda of concerned me.
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