Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz

Juana

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, known as "The Tenth Muse" of America, has been widely anthologized as a poet, intellectual, and defender of women's rights. Her calling as a nun, often denigrated or overlooked, is clear in The Divine Narcissus, the finest extant example of the auto sacramental, a medieval genre similar to mystery plays. Autos presented a blend of poetry, instrumental and choral music, dance and special effects and were intended to provide theological instruction to a broad audience. The Divine Narcissus is an allegory ostensibly written to explain Christian concepts to the Aztecs whose plight under colonization it also dramatizes. It reveals a scintillating display of sacred and secular knowledge. Scholars and students will welcome this drama by America's first feminist in its original Spanish and first English translation.

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