Of Solomon Essay, Research Paper
Analysis and Comparison of Gita Govinda
and Song of Solomon
Gita Govinda is a religious love poem in the Indian religion. The poem consists of
mainly two characters, Krishna and Radha, who are estranged lovers. Towards the end of
the poem, however, they are reunited, giving accounts of how they feel about each other
along the way.
The Song of Solomon from the Bible is a religious poem in the Catholic religion.
There aren’t any names given in the poem, but it seems very clear that there are two
people involved. This poem gives insight into the courtship and marriage customs of the
time when this was written. This poem also gives the reader a feeling of the sacredness
and depth of marriage.
The similarities between these two poems are many. They both deal with two
people in love. Both poems are expressing the feelings of the characters involved. In each
one, the characters are comparing the features of their loved ones to the beautiful things in
each of their societies.
These poems are also structured in similar fashions. Each paragraph is about three
to four sentences long. As a new chapter begins, the speaker changes, always saying how
they feel about the other person.
These poems also have differing qualities about them. The Song of Solomon goes
through the motions of love, and ends with the two lovers being married. In Gita
Govinda, the story is basically about the two lovers reuniting, with no reference to them
becoming married. There is also a structure difference between these two. Gita Govinda
has a lot of repetition in it. In every chapter, there is at least one, if not two, lines that are
repeated in every paragraph for about half of the chapter. The Song of Solomon has no
such format. There is no repetition of lines here. There is, however, a title to each one of
the chapters and subchapters, which I found to make it a lot easier to follow than the Gita
Govinda.
I personally found the Song of Solomon a lot easier to follow. This is probably
due to the fact that I am Christian and have read parts of the Bible in the earlier parts of
my life. This is not to say that the Gita Govinda was not good. I did find it interesting,
but it was too hard for me to follow it. This is because I am not familiar with the Indian
culture or religion. The references that the Gita Govinda made to other names lost me a
few times. With all things said, both of these religious poems are similar in many ways,
which shows the commonality between the two religions and cultures.