What Is the Song of Songs?

Biblical Love Poetry

The Song of Songs is a collection of love poetry, celebrating the love between a man and a woman. It draws on imagery from the beauty of the natural world— plants, trees, spices, animals—as well as geographic and topographic features, including mountains, the city, gardens, and towers, and from the luxury of the royal court. Through monologues and dialogues, the male and female lovers express their longing for each other when they are apart and their physical enjoyment of each other when they are together. The language is erotic and sensual, invoking all the senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch. Jewish tradition interprets the book allegorically, as the love between God and Israel (this metaphor is common in prophetic literature), and it is possible that the book was accepted into the biblical canon based on this interpretation.