Sor Juana You Men

Sor Juana's poem “You Men,” is a literary work that explores the social injustice of mankind, prominently those of men aimed towards women. It displays a main theme of oppression geared toward women. This piece of writing is a prime example of the ever-ongoing battle between gender roles since the dawn of time. How women have taken a second place to men and will never be seen more than second class citizens to them. With a second person narration, Sor Juana writes her poem directly towards a specific group of audience.

According to the text and its content the poem is carefully constructed to be formal and effective to represent the author’s strong opinion. Containing seventeen stanzas, the poem is basically a sonnet along with its ABBA format and short verses. The author’s chosen diction is also well executed thus, allowing us as readers to easily comprehend the main point. The poem could also be seen as an argument confronting the audience.

The author questions and ponders specific views to have the reader sit back and reflect on the topic she is writing. “Silly, you men-so very adept,” right away Sor Juana gives us a clear view of who is the intended audience of this piece of writing. The continuation of the repetition of the word “you,” throughout the poem

Specifically, in the third line of the first stanza of the poem, “not seeing you’re alone to blame.” Being aware of the time frame Sor Juana was from, it is easy to relate why she felt so strongly about voicing her opinion. Women in her time were always to be formal and respectful to their men, “you still expect her to behave,” and Sor Juana saw a higher calling than that. With this poem, she took a chance that simply said no more. She also points out that women are like this because society has embedded ideas into them saying that this is the only way to live, “for faults you plant in woman’s