The Virgin Mary as Alchemical and Lullian Reference in Donne

"Albrecht shows how Donne incorporated the corporeal images of medieval iconography into Lull's mnemotechnics in order to construct his own texts as another version of ars combinatoria, God's attributes being perceived as a series of ever-changing combinations. She argues that this Donnean phenomenon anticipates modern film practice, particularly montage. This thesis is illustrated by her reading of the sonnet beginning, "Show me deare Christ, thy spouse, so bright and cleare." This difficult poem can now finally be understood, but only when readers take into consideration how Lullian abstractions combine with corporeal images to solve the riddle, its answer revealing Donne's ecumenical frame of mind, far more advanced than supposed."