Politics, Religion and the Song of Songs in Seventeenth-Century England

by Elizabeth Clarke

This book explores the use of the Biblical text of the Song of Songs in seventeenth-century England. It charts the period's fascination with the idea of the mystical marriage, and shows how this image was implicated in the conflicts and political struggles of the time. It investigates the appeal of the Song of Songs to women authors and popular writers, and helps to explain some of the extraordinary developments in seventeenth-century English culture.

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Elizabeth Clarke is Reader in English at the University of Warwick. She is author of Theory and Theology in George Herbert's Poetry (Oxford University Press, 1997) and has just finished a study in versions of the Song of Songs in seventeenth-century England. She was director of the Perdita Project for early modern women's manuscripts and is currently directing a British Academy-funded project on the life-writing of Elizabeth Isham (1608-1654).