Studia Litterarum Studia Litterarum 2500-4247 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2023-8-2-86-107 Research Article Articles Spanish Mystic of the 16th Century and the “Spiritual Canticle” of Saint John of the Cross Maria Yu. Ignatieva (Oganissian) red@studlit.ru June 25, 2023 2023 January 02, 2022 The article analyzes the poetics of the “Spiritual Canticle” of St. John of the Cross as a single two-part work, consisting of a poetic text and its prosaic commentary. The “Spiritual Canticle” is one of the masterpieces of Spanish mystical literature of the 16th century. The author of the article describes this literary context, showing the reasons for its emergence and flourishing, the main directions and features, and then proceeds to analyze the poetics of the texts under consideration. The relationship between poetry and prose in the literary legacy of St. John of the Cross is one of the traditional themes of juanística. The article proposes to consider both the one and the other as a manifestation of both the mystical experience and the poetic genius of St. John, without placing the commentary in an auxiliar position in relation to the verses. By interpreting his own poetic text, John creates a new parallel text on the same topic, but in a different genre. Each component has its own internal plot.These two plots, called “lyrical” and “theological,” enter into complex relationships. Thus, “mountains,” “forests,” “extraordinary islands” and other images change their meaning both in verses and in commentary, revealing a general but whimsical transformation of an earthly topos into a transcendental one. Transformation takes place through various types of intersection of created and uncreated beginnings: in man, in nature and in God. Poems from lyrics become sacred text, commentary from didactic becomes exegetical. Spanish mysticism golden age Saint John of the Cross poetics Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 1. 1 Ignat’eva, M.Iu. “Sootnoshenie poezii i prozy v literaturnom nasledii Ioanna Kresta” [“The Relationship between Poetry and Prose in the Literary Heritage of Saint John of the Cross”]. Vestnik Kostromskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta im. N.A Nekrasova, vol. 22, no. 3, 2016, pp. 68–71. (In Russ.) 2. 2 Alonso, Dámaso. “El misterio técnico en la poesía de San Juan de la Cruz.” Alonso, Dámaso. Poesia espanola. Ensayo de metodos y limites estilisticos. Madrid, Gredos, 1976, pp. 219–305. (In Spanish) 3. 3 Certeau, Michel de. La fable mystique. XVIe–XVIIe siecle, vol. 1. Paris, Gallimard, 2018. 416 p. (In French) 4. 4 Cuevas García, Cristóbal. “Estudio preliminar.” San Juan de la Cruz. Cantico espiritual. Poesias. Madrid, Clásicos, 1983, pp. 1–103. (In Spanish) 5. 5 Elia, Paula. “Hacia la edición crítica del ‘Cántico espiritual’ de San Juan de la Cruz.” Hermeneutica y mistica: San Juan de la Cruz, coord. por José Angel Valente, José Lara Garrido. Madrid, Tecnos, 1995, pp. 261–270. (In Spanish) 6. 6 Faustino de Pablo Maroto, o.c.d. Amor y conocimiento en la vida mistica segun Hugo de Balma. Madrid, Teresianum, 1965. 62 p. (In Spanish) 7. 7 Hatzfeld, Helmut. Estudios literarios sobre mistica espanola. Madrid, Gredos, 1976. 464 p. (In Spanish) 8. 8 Ly, Nadine. “La poética de los Comentarios (algunos rasgos lingüísticos).” Hermeneutica y mistica: San Juan de la Cruz, coord. por José Angel Valente, José Lara Garrido. Madrid, Tecnos, 1995, pp. 221–248. (In Spanish) 9. 9 Mallorquí-Ruscalleda, Enric. “El conocimiento de los libros de caballerías españoles a lo divino (1552–1601). Estado de la cuestión y perspectivas futuras de estudio.” eHumanista: Journal of Iberian Studies, vol. 32, 2016, pp. 374–412. (In Spanish) 10. 10 Sainz Rodríguez, Pedro. Introduccion a la Historia de la Literatura Mistica en Espana. Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, 1984. 326 p. (In Spanish) 11. 11 Seisdedos Sanz, Jerónimo. Principios fundamentales de la mistica, vol. 1. Madrid, Librería Católica de Gregorio Del Amo, 1913. 302 p. (In Spanish) 12. 12 Serés, Guillermo. La transformacion de los amantes. Barcelona, Crítica, 1996. 398 p. (In Spanish)