Thus far the motif seems to be that of a Cinderella oppressed by brothers but exalted by the most magnificent of princes. But here the plot changes. The magnificence of Solomon cannot allure from her shepherd lover this "lily of the valley." Her lover visits her in the palace, where her now relenting brothers (vi. 12) seem to appear (though this is doubtful) and witness her triumphs; and all are in raptures at her dancing and her amply displayed charms--all unless one (perhaps the lover) who, according to a doubtful interpretation, complains that they should gaze at her as at dancers in the camps (vi. 13). [22] Although Russell Martineau maintained, against most other commentators, that Solomon is only a part of the scene, and not among the dramatis personæ, the King certainly seems to be occasionally present, as in the following dialogue, where I give the probable, though of course conjectural, names. The dancer has approached the King while at table. Solomon-- "I have compared thee, O my love, To my steed in Pharaoh's chariot. Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair, Thy neck with strings of jewels. We will make thee plaits of gold With studs of silver." Shulamith, who, on leaving the King, meets her jealous lover-- "While the King sat at his table My spikenard sent forth its odor. My beloved is unto me as a bag of myrrh That lieth between my breasts, My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of En-gedi." Shepherd Lover-- "Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair; Thine eyes are as doves, Behold thou art fair, my beloved, yea pleasant: Also our couch is green. The beams of our house are of cedar, And our rafters are of fir." Shulamith-- "I am a (mere) crocus of the plain." Chorus, or perhaps the Lover-- "A lily of the valleys." Shepherd Lover-- "As a lily among thorns So is my love among the daughters." Shulamith-- "As the apple tree among forest trees So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste." Thus we find the damsel anointing the king with her spikenard, but for her the precious fragrance is her shepherd. Against the plaits of gold and studs of silver offered in the palace (i. 2) her lover can only point to his cottage of cedar and fir, and a couch of grass. She is content to be only a flower of the plain and valley, not for the seraglio. Nevertheless she remains to dance in the palace; a sufficient time there is needed by the poet to illustrate the impregnability of true love against all other splendors and attractions, even those of the Flower of Kings. He however puts no constraint on her, one song, thrice repeated, saying to the ladies of the harem--