JUANA INÉS de la Cruz. - Poetess, b. at San Miguel de Nepantla on 12 Nov. 1651, d. in Mexico on 17 Apr. 1695. She is the greatest poetess of the Spanish language in the Baroque age. In her youth she distinguished herself in philosophical and theological studies; she was a lady-in-waiting to the vicereine, the Marchioness of Mancera.
Later, having entered the Order of St. Jerome, she carried out a great literary activity, mainly (with the exception of some dramatic works, such as *Amor es más laberinto*, *Los empeños de una casa*, and the sacramental auto *El divino Narciso*) in poetry, written partly in Latin but always in the taste of the Baroque Gongorism of the time, though with particular depth of thought. Among her works are especially remembered the sonnet *A un retrato* and the *Redondillas en defensa de las mujeres*. All her work is pervaded by a lively religious sentiment. She devoted herself to the care of her fellow sisters struck by an epidemic, and she herself fell victim to II.