Virgin Rhetoric: Fray Luis de Leon and Marian Piety in Virgen, que el sol mas pura

Abstract

Fray Luis's "Virgen que el sol más pura" has generally been read as a straightforward expression of the poet's Marian piety expressed in the difficult circumstances of his imprisonment by the Inquisition. The more intimate tone and the autobiographical subject matter of this poem have made it a favorite of many modern readers who have looked at it and the other so-called 'prison poems' as revealing Fray Luis's capacity for writing in a more personal poetic register. By reconsidering his use of Marian piety in this poem in the context of his other works and as a self-conscious imitation of its Petrarchan model, this interpretation argues that "Virgen" is a much subtler poetic expression than has been commonly recognized. His unusual use of Marian piety and the doctrine of Mary's immaculacy (almost unique in the context of the poet's oeuvre as a whole) may be read as a rhetorical stance tied stylistically and thematically to the imprisoned circumstances of the poetic voice. Although irony is not a common literary device in Fray Luis, the juxtaposition of the liturgical praise to the immaculate Virgin and the poet's own abject condition prepares the stage for the poem's concluding invitation (both to Mary and to the reader) to intuit the unspoken desires of the imprisoned poetic voice. In his final appeal to the Virgin, the poetic voice declares that—despite his ability to praise Mary—he is unable to publish what his heart truly desires.