Published in Emotions in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean World

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The following article analyzes emotion as a human intellectual quest; this search can be considered a positive emotion. As Plato once said the use of logic and reason to channel our emotions makes something constructive that leads to the truth. This human need of emotion to seek human understanding is presented in Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz expresses her imagination, creativity and genius through her extraordinary verses in the poem Primero Sueño. In this masterpiece of baroque literature, Sor Juana’s intellectual power as a writer, her deep curiosity and especially her pursuit of wisdom is displayed. Under a truly complex surface, there is a current of emotional distress. In the poem, the reader can appreciate Sor Juana’s internal struggle and the sense of desolation that she experiences. This suffering is evident and manifests itself in a constant tension between several contradictory elements in the poem. Finally, Sor Juana attempts to capture the human experience and achieve a complete understanding of the universe in Primero Sueño. She attempts this through her emotional view of the world in which she lives and interprets.