Analysis
The work has been described by Laura Saetveit Miles, a Yale University researcher of medieval manuscripts, as "one of the most admired fifteenth-century Middle English lyrics offers, within a deceptively simple form, an extremely delicate and haunting presentation of Mary (the 'mayden / þat is makeles') and her conception of Christ ('here sone')". Primarily, the text celebrates the Annunciation of Mary as described in Luke 1:26, but also widely references concepts from the Old Testament. Michael Steffes of University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point notes that "'I syng of a mayden' is a very quiet and very beautiful meditation on the inward aspects of the Annunciation, on the immediate consequences of Mary's acceptance of Gabriel's message." The concept of the choice of Mary is an important subtlety in the text. Derek Pearsall writes:
- A brain and a subtle ear has gone into the making of this poem...celebrating the mystery of Christ's conception. Dew falling on grass, flower and spray (traditional imagery, deriving from OT texts such as Psalms 72:6) suggests ease, grace and delicacy generally (not progressive stages of insemination). The emphasis on Mary's freedom of choice, at the moment of the annunciation, is theologically strictly proper.
According to Miles, despite a celebratory opening, "Mary's physical stillness as proof of her virginity remains the poet's priority." As a result, the poet repeats the phrase "He cam also stylle" in three of the five verses. "Stylle" had several implications – the stillness of the conception of Mary and of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The poem is written from a first person point of view, and contains five quatrains. Below is the text in both its original Middle English, with spelling intact, and a modern translation.
| Middle English original | English modernisation |
|---|---|
| I syng of a mayden þat is makeles, |
I sing of a maiden |
| He came also stylle þer his moder was |
He came as still |
| He cam also stylle to his moderes bowr |
He came as still |
| He cam also stylle þer his moder lay |
He came as still |
| Moder & mayden was neuer non but che – |
Mother and maiden |
Read more about this topic: I Syng Of A Mayden
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