☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics are a prayer that invokes Mother Mary in her role as protector and comforter.
- The supplicant asks for Mary's help against the brutality and harshness of the world.
- Mary is portrayed as an image of hope and comfort, who softens the darkness and harshness of the world.
- The supplicant shows willingness to submit to fate as long as she feels Mary's comfort.
- Mary is shown as a mediator between the believers and God.
Interpretation
The lyrics of 'Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild' is a prayer that invokes the Virgin Mary in her role as mother and protector. The Virgin, who recites the prayer, asks for protection and comfort in a world depicted as harsh and cruel.
In the first verse, the Virgin Mary asks to hear her plea from this 'rock, rigid and wild'. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for a tough and unforgiving world in which the supplicant lives. She asks Mary to take care of her 'virgin concerns' and help her as a mother.
In the second verse, the image of the hard rock is continued, but softened under Mary's protection. The supplicant speaks of how Mary's smile and the scent of roses alleviate the darkness and hardness of the 'dull rock cleft'. She calls on Mary again, this time as 'virgin' and 'mother', and asks for her protection and help.
In the third and final verse, the supplicant pleads to Mary as 'pure maiden' to drive away the demons of the earth and the air. She expresses her willingness to submit to fate as long as she feels the 'holy comfort' of Mary. She asks Mary to incline to the child who pleads to the Father, indicating Mary's role as a mediator between believers and God.
In summary, 'Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild' is an intimate prayer of a virgin who lives in a harsh and cruel world, and seeks the protection, help and comfort of Mary.