Sor Juana the Nun and Writer: Las Redondillas and The Reply

The Reply was written in response to attacks against her by a supposed friend, the Bishop of Puebla, Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, using “Sor Filotea de la Cruz” as a pseudonym. In it, Sor Juana defends her right to intellectual freedom as a woman and as a nun while affirming her dedication to her literary duties. This lesson plan will help students study both Las redondillas, an arraignment of men for what Sor Juana believed was hypocritical behavior, as well as her autobiographical Reply to the Very Illustrious Sor Philotea de la Cruz. These two documents will help them to understand why Sor Juana has been called the first feminist of the New World.

• For the first portion of this lesson plan, read thoroughly and study the Redondillas and the selected segments of La Respuesta included in this lesson. The Redondillas, or the Philosophical Satire, can be accessed through the EDSITEment-reviewed site, LitGloss.
• La Respuesta or The Reply is available through the Proyecto Ensayo Hispánico website. For general vocabulary for this lesson plan, you can access general glossaries, available in both Spanish and English, through EDSITEment.

• Ensure that students know that a redondilla is a word derived from the word “redondo,” or round in Spanish. In poetry, it is a series of stanzas (estrofas) that consist of cuartetas octosílabas (versos de arte menor, eight syllables) with the rhyme scheme abba, also called rima abrazada. (Worksheets for Activity 1 and 2 will guide students to analyze first the form of Sor Juana’s redondillas to then analyze the content and meaning, including the gender questions the poet raises in this work.). For basic poetic terminology, you and the students can access the Glossary of Poetic Terms available through EDSITEment.
• Ensure that students are able to identify literary resources within the redondillas. Some of the most memorable quatrains in Sor Juana’s redondillas use the repetition of a grammatical structure in reverse order known as a chiasmus (el quiasmo). The definition and examples are available in the Glossary of Poetic Terms available through EDSITEment, or through the EDSITEment-reviewed site, Silva Rhetoricae, from Brigham Young University. (The worksheet for Activity 1 will provide students with the opportunity to point out any chiasmus and other literary devices they find in the redondillas on their worksheets.)
• The following part of this lesson plan (Activity 3) will study a groundbreaking document, La Respuesta a la muy ilustre Sor Filotea de la Cruz  (La Respuesta or The Reply),  available through EDSITEment, which students can also use. The complete Respuesta can be accessed through the website of the Proyecto Ensayo Hispánico. Discuss with the students the passages you select for study.
• La Respuesta a la muy ilustre Sor Filotea de la Cruz (La Respuesta or The Reply)is the autobiographical letter in which Sor Juana defends her rights as a woman and as a nun to intellectual freedom and literary pursuits. Give a solid historical background for this part of the lesson so that students understand the significance and the tone of the letter. Biographical information on Sor Juana can be found through the EDSITEment-created timeline of the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. More information can also be found through the EDSITEment-reviewed site LANIC (Latin American Network Information Center) featured site, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Portal, from the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Students will work with a worksheet for this portion of the lesson to analyze one or two fragments of this letter.

(Click here for the Spanish version of this lesson plan.)

Activity 1. Las Redondillas: Let’s Analyze!

In this activity, you will analyze the internal structure of of Las Redondillas, available through EDSITEment, using the EDSITEment-created worksheet. You can also access Las Redondillas, here titled Sátira Filosófica, on LitGloss. As you complete the worksheet, you will count and record the syllables in each verse, as well as look for literary devices such as similes, metaphors, and chiasmus. The Glosario poético básico will be helpful here. You should also note any unfamiliar words so that you can look them up. This activity will prepare you for Activity 2, where you will analyze Las Redondillas in greater detail.

Activity 2. Las Redondillas: Misguided Men, Let’s write!

In this activity, you will analyze the content and message of Las Redondillas. The worksheet for this activity is divided into two parts. In the first part, you will describe the characteristics of Las Redondillas, while in the second part you will analyze the content and message of this work through two essays. For the final question on the worksheet, use the Gender Worksheet to analyze the use of gender in this work before returning to the main worksheet to discuss the treatment of gender and gender stereotypes in Las Redondillas.

Activity 3. The Reply to the Very Illustrious Sor Philotea de la Cruz: Answer to a Traitor

In this activity, you will study one or two fragments from La Respuesta a la muy Ilustre Sor Filotea de la Cruz, an autobiographical letter in which Sor Juana defends her rights as a woman and nun to intellectual freedom and literary pursuits. It is important to understand the historical background of this letter, so begin by reviewing the timeline of Sor Juana’s life, as well as the biographical information found on the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Portal from the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Then, select one or two fragments from the EDSITEment-created worksheet. Think about the circumstances surrounding Sor Juana’s life when she wrote this letter, and what the fragment or fragments are communicating. Write an essay analyzing your selected fragment(s), being sure to address the following questions:

• To whom is the letter really being directed?
• How would you characterize Sor Juana’s tone and attitude?
• Is the letter effective in communicating the author’s attitude and feelings?
• How might this text support the title some have given to Sor Juana as the New World’s first feminist writer?

Now that you have learned more about the historical context in which Sor Juana lived, create your own timeline of her life. Use the EDSITEment-created timeline as reference, but be sure to conduct your own research an include additional events in her life or in New Spain that involved or affected her. Create a parallel timeline to illustrate the global context, including events from around the world.

By reading and analyzing Las Redondillas and Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz, you have become familiar with the last years of Sor Juana’s life, as well as her writing from this period. Imagine that you face the modern-day equivalent of Sor Juana’s final years: life without books, television, internet, computers, or cellphones. Using the EDSITEment-created worksheet for this activity, write a one-page essay, in the form of a journal entry or letter to those with authority over you, expressing the injustices you face. Be sure to use correct verb moods and tenses throughout the essay, including the subjunctive.

You may find it useful to consult the timeline of Sor Juana’s life and LANIC (Latin American Network Information Center) with its featured site, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Portal from the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.

(Click here for the Spanish version of this lesson plan.)