Week 2 Analysis: Literary Analysis of Poem 145 by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Poem 145 (Page 262)

Reading through this poem, I interpreted the poem to be encouraging a hesitant eye when looking at art or anything else that would typically be deemed as beautiful. The painting is referred to throughout the poem as both a "snare" and a "trap" (lines 1 & 4). Keeping the note in mind at the start of the poem providing context, "She endeavors to expose the praises recorded in a portrait of the poetess by truth, which she calls passion," De la Cruz feels as though the painting of herself is deceitful. From her point of view, this painting of herself is a trap since it makes herself look more attractive than she feels she is. The "clever arguments of tone and hue" are details of the painting that were altered to make her look more attractive, and she considers it to be manipulative (line 3). She feels as though the painting ignores all of her life experiences and any hardships that shaped her into who she is as expressed in the lines "flattery has tried / to overlook the horrors of the years" (lines 5-6). She doesn't want to view herself in a way that lies to her and pretends as though her whole life is better than it was. Her tone throughout the poem is consistently one of refusal and criticism born from the initial doubts she had from seeing the painting. I believe the last two lines of the poem were her throwing out or destroying the painting for the insult it has inflicted upon her. If I take away the context that went into inspiring her to write this poem, the poem still has a theme of being hesitant when appreciating art since it might try to deceive you. With the way art is placed into a gallery and appreciated by society, there is an expectancy to appreciate famous pieces of art. It's as though once a piece of art is unanimously praised, it's effectively true and can potentially shape the views of those who didn't think the art was anything special yet were told that it was. This can lead to their senses being caught in the snare, and manipulated. And this indoctrination of ideas as to what makes art beautiful can destroy the subjectivity of art and any unique interpretations and appreciation of art.