8-5DarkLady

WHO IS THE DARK LADY? The Dark Lady is a lady that is mentioned in 24 of Shakespeare's famous sonnets. Shakespeare describes her as "a woman color'd ill', with black eyes and coarse black hair." She is thus called the Dark Lady. There is nowhere near enough evidence to place the title on anyone, but people have come up with a few. Scholars believe it to be one of three women. It could have been Mary Fitton, a lady in waiting to Queen Elizebeth; It could have been Lucy Morgan, a brothel owner and a former maid to Queen Elizebeth; it also could have been Emilier Lanier, the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, patron of the arts. One rather unusual theory is that said dark lady was in fact a black prostitute. Emilia Lanier is one of the top contestants for several reasons. She stood out from the London crowd because of her distinctly dark hair and skin. She was also in Shakespeare's crowd. Lord Hunsdon was an avid listener of music, which would comply with the Bohemian personality that Shakespeare is associated with. That is not to say that music listeners were Bohemian, but rather that an enjoyer of music would be an enjoyer of the arts, in which plays and acting is included. One might not consider the idea that Shakespeare's illusory Dark Lady was a black prostitute, but there are passages from sonnets that might lead one to perhaps consider that as a possibility. "In the old age black was not counted fair." In this passage he is refering to the prejudice against black people. "But now is black beauty's successive heir." He says black beauty, another insinuation. "Better becomes the grey cheeks of the east." He not only says her cheecks are dark, but also that she comes from the east (Africa). "Then will I swear beauty herself is black." He again says that she is black. It is still a mystery to this day who the identity of the Dark Lady is, and we may never know. There is too little written about her, and to vague of ideas. Many of the passages above could be referring to other things, and there is no definite way to prove any of these theories.

Works Cited

Laroque, Francois. The Age of Shakespeare. New York: Harry N. Abrams, inc., 1991.

Mabillard, Amanda. "Who is Shakespeare's Dark Lady?." //Shakespeare Online // (2003) Web.14 Apr2009. .

"The Dark Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets ." Web.14 Apr 2009. < http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4081/DarkLady.html>.