Les ambiguïtés du Cantique des cantiques, Des procédés poétiques nombreux pour un sens littéral multiple
(2026)
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- Abstract
- A state-of-the-art review of our general knowledge about the Song allows us to make the same observation as many researchers: there is no agreement on the date, the place of origin, the identity of the author, the purposes of the text, its unity, its composition, its textual history, its literary genre, or the literary context in which and for which it may have been written. In other words, questions about the Song far outnumber the certainties. One of the most commented-on biblical texts thus remains also one of the most mysterious. Such resistance is astonishing. It raises questions. Is the lack of certainty and the variety of interpretations really due to a deficit of knowledge on the part of the modern reader? And what if subverting expectations was a strategy of the poem? What if leading the reader into the labyrinth of meanings was one of the very reasons for this opaque and splendid writing? We might be facing a crucial fact, a central element from which to rethink our perception. A number of exegetes have already turned their attention to the complexity and literary richness of the poem. It even seems that they are increasingly formalizing this observation. Spurred on by their findings, we were able to dig deeper into the text, and identify several layers, not diachronic but synchronic. Indeed, many words in the Canticle can have multiple meanings, and many expressions can be understood in different ways, each of these interpretations appearing valid and relevant within the immediate literary context. Rather than choosing one meaning at the expense of others, should we not consider that the poetic model underlying the writing of the text is that of plurality? To account for this hypothesis and to support it on a literary level, a rhetorical device gradually emerged to finally become established: the "play on words" or "ambiguity." A new difficulty arises. By consulting exegetes who explicitly focus on literary ambiguities considered as intentional poetic devices, we observed that we still lack comprehensive syntheses in this field. It was therefore necessary to develop our own typology by distinguishing various elements: ambiguities related to sound, those related to lexicon, others to syntax, metaphors, narration, composition, expression, or even literary genre. The application of this methodology produced surprising results. And the interpretation of these results could suggest a renewal of the hermeneutic perspective: what if the complexities of the Song were not a "difficulty" but a poetic play as powerful as it is delightful?
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Bobin, M. (2026). Les ambiguïtés du Cantique des cantiques, Des procédés poétiques nombreux pour un sens littéral multiple. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/266603