Home›Articles›The Dark Night, and the Poetry of AbsenceArticlesThe Dark Night, and the Poetry of AbsenceCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "The Dark Night, and the Poetry of Absence." Accessed September 2, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/articles/john-of-the-cross-the-dark-night-and-the-poetry-of-absence.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Dark Night, and the Poetry of Absence. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/articles/john-of-the-cross-the-dark-night-and-the-poetry-of-absenceCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-the-dark-night-and-the-poetry-of-absence, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {The Dark Night, and the Poetry of Absence}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/articles/john-of-the-cross-the-dark-night-and-the-poetry-of-absence}, note = {Accessed September 2, 2026} }Copy BibTeXLearn MoreCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Learn MoreThe Dark Night, and the Poetry of Absence John of the Cross gave Christian mysticism one of its most enduring images: the dark night of the soul. A Spanish Carmelite, he joined Teresa of Avila in the reform of the order, the "Discalced" (barefoot) Carmelites who sought a stricter, more contemplative life, and was imprisoned and beaten by friars of the unreformed branch who opposed the reform. It was in that prison cell that he composed some of his greatest poetry. His teaching, set out in verse and in the prose commentaries The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night, describes the soul's journey to union with God as a progressive stripping-away: first of attachment to created things, then, in the "dark night," of all sensible consolation and even the felt presence of God, so that the soul is purified of everything but bare faith. The absence is not abandonment but the means of a deeper union beyond image and feeling. Named a Doctor of the Church, he is honoured both as a mystical theologian of the first rank and as one of the supreme poets of the Spanish language.Cross-Tradition ConnectionsArticle OnJohn of the Cross, Figures Well-attested Source Divinity Atlas Long-Form Articles, First Editiontier 1SourcesDivinity Atlas Long-Form Articles, First Editiontier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year