The 3 most important WORKS of SAN JUAN de LA CRUZ

Inside Christianity, San Juan de la Cruz is, perhaps, one of the most sensitive referents on an aesthetic level. Born in Spain in 1542 and baptized Juan de Yepes Álvarez, he was a religious interested in experimental Christian mysticism. The poetry of San Juan de la Cruz is not only the expression of a spiritual commitment, but also the meeting point of a literary tradition in the Spanish language. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the most important works of Saint John of the Cross.

Before entering into the works of Saint John of the Cross, let us know a little about the meaning of his work. Fundamentally his literary production focuses on poetry, a use of the verses that highlights symbolism and metaphors. But what does he symbolize? Since Saint John of the Cross is a religious, is his poetry mystical and religious? Faced with this type of concerns, which vary in interpretation, we could say that the author's poetry is not mystical, but rather the literary channel through which he expresses his mysticism.

Saint John of the Cross wrote at the end of Renaissance, the creative development of him was marked by the literary currents of this time. Which allowed him to use resources of poetic language related to the use of mysticism symbols. It is worth clarifying that here mystique refers to the knowledge and experience of God's love. Mystic derives from the Greek word mystikos indicating the "mysterious." In other words, the stanzas of San Juan de la Cruz are a vehicle for discover those mysteries of divine love. In this sense, symbols and metaphors have to do with his spiritual temperament.

As María Auxiliadora Álvarez points out in her essay Experience and expression of the ineffable in San Juan de la Cruz, the texts of this 16th century Christian can be taken from two different and complementary points of view:

“In the first place we address the poetic form, the genre of expression (…) that corresponds to the literary aspect. Secondly, we delve into the content (…) where the strictly religious aspect lies, in order to break down separately his concepts about the knowledge of God (theology), and about divine love (mysticism)"

According to Álvarez, these concepts act as the basis for the three major poems of his: Spiritual Canticle, Dark Night of the Soul Y Ascent to Mount Carmel. Each of the poems is accompanied by comments in prose made by himself.

As we could see in the previous section, this author's work is mainly concentrated in three collections of poems that are loaded with demonstrations and explanations of the mystical experience. For Saint John of the Cross it was fundamental to exemplify the path of revelation that he had felt. For this reason, part of his poems focus on the different phases of a person's spiritual path. Here are the 3 most important works of Saint John of the Cross.

Dark night of the soul

This work is the result of a poem that the author wrote and later transformed into a treaty adding annotations and comments in each of the stanzas. Specifically, he enacts a point on the spiritual path: the moment of loneliness and desolation in the search for God. Although the poetry of Saint John of the Cross allows its meaning to be transposed to different religions, here an emphasis is placed on this type of experiences within the Christianity.

In this composition we can recognize the process of transformation and spiritual maturity that a person has who decides to undertake the path in search of union with God. It is usually associated with a moment of "crisis".

The climb of Mount Carmel

This work places us in the process of the encounter with God. It is a commented poem that recognizes the intellectual impossibilities of describing and symbolizing said experience; a practically ineffable moment. In a sense, these verses create a unity with the Dark night of the soul, the latter being a moment prior to the ascent of the mountain and the divine encounter. Throughout 13 chapters, Saint John of the Cross leads us into this progress of detachment, commitment and enjoyment.

Spiritual chant

We end this review of the works of Saint John of the Cross by talking about Spiritual chant. With around 22 poems, San Juan de la Cruz proposes a tone loaded with eroticism that recounts the adventure of lovers; gives us a sensual look at the deep union between the human and the divine. With various games of rhymes and metrics he manages to create a simplicity and originality to express his conception of Christian mysticism.

As he tries to do in his three great works, this work is also an analogy of his own experience: it reveals to us, through poetry, how to establish the union of our soul with God. And it is here where the various interpretations and approaches to his work come into play: is it simply a lyrical product? Is it a set of theological treatises with poetry? Or are the artistic expressions of an experience that can only be explained through poetry?