Another tree found in the garden of Swete Susan is the palm tree. For the ancients, palm trees with their "radiating foliage" were emblematic of spiritual prosperity and righteousness (Fotana, 100). They are also emblematic of victory in St. John's Revelation (Unger, 957). This is consistent with the figure of the virtuous Susan who chooses to embrace righteousness, even to her personal detriment. Susan demonstrates her personal victory over sin in her refusal to have sexual intercourse with the unscrupulous judges. She chooses to please God rather than man.
Birds are another important element in Susan's garden. Fowl were generally regarded by the ancients as figures of spiritual transcendence. They represented "freedom from the physical restrictions of an earth bound life, and the ascent of the soul to the gods, either through mystical experience or death." ( Fotana, 86) The Swete Susan poet employs such symbolism to reveal the depths of Susan's spirituality. Susan's spiritual transcendence is evident in her decision to embrace spiritual truth over material expedience. In his description of the birds in Swete Susan's garden, the poet asserts:
Thus schene briddes in schawe scheen heore schroude,
On firres and fygers thei fingen heone fees,
In fay.
Ther weore growyng so grene
The date with the damesene
Turtils troned on trene
By sixti I say (SS, 85-90)
Among the birds mentioned by the Swete Susan poet is the turtledove. To the ancient Hebrews doves were symbolic of reconciliation with God. This understanding has its origins in the Genesis account of the great deluge. It is a dove that returns to Noah with an olive branch signifying the discovery of dry land and peace with God. (Genesis 15:19) The dove is also used by Solomon in the Song of Songs as an emblem of tender, devoted affection. Doves are unique birds in the animal kingdom because of their practice of mating for life. The Swete Susan poet uses the dove as an emblem of Susan's devotion and faithfulness to Yahweh and her husband Jahokim. This emblem, perhaps above all the rest, expresses the quintessence of Susan's spiritual virtue. In the medieval poet's depiction of Susan as the spiritual garden and bride of Christ, the dove imagery emphasizes her faithfulness and holiness.
On the literal level the garden imagery is also emblematic of Susan's sexuality. The Swete Susan poet employs many of the same images used by Solomon in the Song of Songs to describe the erotic, sensual pleasures of the garden of his beloved. Susan's garden is replete with exotic pleasant herbs and spices. Among those mentioned are chives, sage, parsnip, and parsley. The poet uses these herbs in a similar way as Solomon in the Song of Songs. The herbs clearly represent the enticing pleasures of sexual love.
For millenniums great poets have used the image of the natural garden as an emblem of amorous love and spiritual virtue. King Solomon of Israel employed this beautiful metaphor in his Song of Songs, celebrating the enticing sexual appeal of his Shulamite bride. The medieval poet elaborates on this theme in The Pistel of Swete Susan. The garden metaphor is used as both a metaphor of Susan's sexuality and her spirituality. The poem is replete with provocative symbols identifying the virtue and true beauty of Swete Susan, the loyal handmaiden of Yahweh.