Wednesday, September 5, 2012

meaning - Word order in the Hail Mary prayer

Part of the Hail Mary reads




Blessed art thou among women,



And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, etc.





I have some intuitive sense that putting the adjective first accomplishes something subtle but important in this poem. If someone can explain it in a reasonably rigorous but not too long-winded way that would be great.



In the Spanish version I get a clear sense of the speaker confiding in an intimate way, and also providing reassurance. But maybe that's just cultural context, and it's not actually built into the way the words are arranged.



(Inspired by a review of an older similar question at Spanish SE.)

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