Ora pro nobis: Blessed Mary's Human and Divine Prayer

The most important sources concerning Mary are the canonical Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The theology, cult and literature concerning Mary are imbued with almost two thousand years of cultural history. Moreover, the interest in this figure grew continuously up to recent epochs. I aim of my study is to analyze Italian poetry in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is the addresser. As prayerful enunciation may occur only in certain discursive conditions, many of the prayers present in Italian literature can be interpreted as instances of illocutionary acts – in this framework Mary’s words present conversational features and her direct speech allows to investigate creative fiction that is closely (and pragmatically) linked to a portion of reality.