Singing Mary’s Song: A Look at the Poetry of the Magnificat, How to Hear It More Effectively, and Sing Along

Little poetry of the Magnificat, Mary’s proclamation in Luke 1:46b–55, survives translation into English, keeping contemporary readers from hearing and learning Mary’s song as early hearers did. This essay presents examples of Greek poetry, exploring where it could echo Hebrew or Semitic poetic devices, then offers an English-language hymn paraphrase or interpretation that uses a similar poetic device to help fully engage on a level similar to original readers of Luke’s Gospel. By “singing along,” one can hear how the themes of the Magnificat reverberate through Jesus’s ministry and beyond.