At the centre of The Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish poet and mystic St John of the Cross. Consisting of eight stanzas, each of five lines, the poem outlines the journey in pursuit of divine union, within which the only source of light comes from the soul. This recording in English includes the poem itself and St John’s two accompanying treatises (1584–5), essentially commentaries, which offer line-by-line explanations of the poem. Many modern readers have found guidance and consolation in this work.