Abstract
This essay looks primarily at the poetic imagery of St. John of the Cross to discuss imprisonment and liberation. St. John, who wrote many of his poems while in prison, frequently turned to penal metaphors when discussing the human existential condition: All are trapped in a prison created by the “knowledge” received through the senses. Only by means of the secret ladder of contemplative prayer can prisoners—confined in an actual cell or in their own illusions and addictions—find liberation in the embrace of God.
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