Thesis Statements for Paper 1—Choose one and write 500-750 words. Find evidence in the text to support the thesis and offer a conclusion detailing the importance and implications of your reading from the Song of Songs by Chana Bloch.

1.      The Shulamite seems trapped between her desire and her reasoning. She warns the ‘Daughters of Jerusalem’ not to awaken love before it is ready, indicating that she believes she has done just that. Yet, the poem is a celebration of this awakening. Importantly, the sexual awakening of the man in the poem is muted and does not seem to be the focus. The awakening signifies both the sexual awakening of the Shulamite as a defined object of desire, and the potential this sexual awakening has to destabilize society. Explain how.