1. Shakespearean Sonnets
The Dark Lady

2. A few things to remember
The “I” who speaks in the sonnets is not Shakespeare himself, but a persona
The speaking subject is always in relation to another individual (the young man, the dark lady, or the rival poet)
The poet’s identity (the “I”) of the poems is defined through its interaction with the other person

3. Sonnet 97 Get into groups of 3-4
Looking at the sonnet line by line in your group, rewrite the language as best you can in modern English
We will then compare different versions of the poem in class and see what we can figure out about this sonnet
How have we made the poem more understandable through this process? How have we made it less?

4. Sonnet 104
The poet views the beloved as ageless (if we love someone they are in some ways frozen in time)
We cannot perceive aging as time creeps so slowly
The poet also suggests that we cannot always trust our senses (“mine eye may be deceived”); note also the use of “seems”
What do you make of the final two lines?

5. Sonnet 116 This sonnet is an attempt to stabilize the world
Shakespeare claims that he will not change despite finding change in the one he loves
He wants the beloved to serve as a constant (his true north—”the star to every wand’ring bark”)
The poet hopes that love will not be altered by age or death
Yet, the final two lines reveal desperation

7. The Dark Lady Sonnets
This sequence of sonnets focuses on the idea of the unattainable female who is desired by the male
The woman is never referred to as “the Dark Lady” in the Sonnets, but is called so by critics due to her dark features
The sonnets depict the speaker’s relationship with her as unambiguously sexual
Scholars have tried to discover her identity for centuries (pictured here Mary Fitton, one candidate)

8. Sonnet 130
This poem is similar to a blazon, a type of literary convention that focused on different body parts of the beloved and praised each separate part
Usually blazons compared women’s body parts to naturally beautiful things (lips to cherries, teeth to pearls, etc.)

9. A Literal Portrait of a Beautiful woman (The extravagant Shepherd, 1654)

10. Comparison with a traditional poem from the same era
FROM FIDESSA
My Lady's hair is threads of beaten gold;   Her front the purest crystal eye hath seen; Her eyes the brightest stars the heavens hold;   Her cheeks, red roses, such as seld have been; Her pretty lips of red vermilion dye;   Her hand of ivory the purest white; Her blush AURORA, or the morning sky.   Her breast displays two silver fountains bright; The spheres, her voice; her grace, the Graces three;      Her body is the saint that I adore; Her smiles and favours, sweet as honey be.   Her feet, fair THETIS praiseth evermore.     But Ah, the worst and last is yet behind :     For of a griffon she doth bear the mind!
By Bartholomew Griffin. Published 1596
How is the dark lady different from the ideal woman?
Is the poet being funny, subversive, or refreshingly honest?

11. Sonnet 135
Plays on his name and the various meanings of “will.” Some possible meanings of the word:
What one wishes to have to do
What one will make happen
Lust or passion
The male sex organ
The female sex organ
A shortened form of the poet’s name

12. Possible meanings “Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will”
No matter who other women have, you have your own William
No matter what other women have to satisfy their desires, you have a compliant man whose private part satisfies you
No matter what other women want, you have your own desires or you have your own inclinations
The entire poem can be read numerous different ways based on your imaginative use of the word “Will”