Term Papers on The Mysteries Of The Sonnets Vargo 1

Term Paper Title	The Mysteries Of The Sonnets Vargo 1
# of Words	1794
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	7.18

The Mysteries of the Sonnets Vargo 1

William Shakespeare’s sonnets may have been the best poetry ever written. The sonnets
are beautifully written with many different feelings expressed in them. Although they may have
been the most autobiographically written poems of all time, they still present a number of
questions. Many Elizabethan historians and Shakespeare enthusiasts often wonder who
Shakespeare was writing about when he wrote the sonnets. There are three main questions which
come to mind when one is reading the sonnets. The mysterious dark lady, Mr. W. H., and the
young man that Shakespeare wrote of are three of the sonnet mysteries.
Although William Shakespeare did not write the sonnets to be a puzzle for the reader to
solve, the dark lady of the sonnets is perhaps the most puzzling of the mysteries. There is a whole
sequence of sonnets that mention the dark mistress. Sonnets 127-154 are the sonnets that deal
with the dark lady. From these sonnets, a good description of the dark lady is given. The first of
the dark lady sonnets, Sonnet 127, gives a good physical description of the mistress.
“...Therefore my mistress’ eyes are raven black, / Her eyes so suited, and they mourners seem/ At
such who, not born fair, no beauty lack,/ Slandering creation with a false esteem./ Yet so they
mourn becoming of their woe,/ That every tongue says beauty should look so” (Booth ed. 110).
Lines 9-14 of this sonnet tell the reader that the mistress has dark features and there is a hint that
perhaps she wore makeup. Also, in Sonnet 130, another good physical description of the dark
lady is given. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” Coral is far more red then her lips’
red;/ If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her
head./ I have seen roses damask’s red and white,/ But no such roses see I in her
cheeks;...”(Hubler 104) Although Shakespeare gives a harsh description of the dark lady’s
features, he does mention that he cares for her. “He does not say that he loves her in spite of her
faults; he loves her faults and all.” (Hubler 104) In other sonnets, such as Sonnet 127, William
Shakespeare admits that he finds the dark lady’s features beautiful. The variety of Shakespeare’s
descriptions of the dark lady make it seem as if there may not be a dark lady at all. She may be a
literary creation.
Vargo 2
The identity of the dark lady cannot be based on physical description alone. A good
behavioral description of the dark lady can be found in many places in the sonnets. “And whether
that my angel be turned fiend,/ Suspect I may, yet not directly tell;/ But being both from me,
both to each friend,/ I guess one angel in another’s hell...” (Hubler 107). This section of Sonnet
144 tells the reader that the dark lady had a way of torturing Shakespeare. He has figures out that
the mistress is unfaithful and he does not know what exactly she is doing. According to Edward
Hubler, Shakespeare’s sketch of the dark lady is a piece with the view of sex without romance
revealed throughout his works (107). It seems that Shakespeare did not find the dark lady to be a
very appealing person, but he did, however, find her to be very sexually appealing. William
Shakespeare was not in love with the dark mistress. It seems that his feelings for her are clearly
only lustful ones.
William Shakespeare was in contact with many women throughout his life. Therefore,
there are many theories as to who the mysterious mistress is. The most popular name concerning
the dark lady’s identity is Mary Fitton. Mary Fitton was a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth and
was a mistress to William Herbet. “She was a lively lady who became the mother of three
illegitimate children by different men, but afterward married richly and died very respectable.”
(Harrison 44). The only problem with Fitton being the dark lady is that she did not possess the
dark features that Shakespeare so vividly described throughout his poetry. In addition to Fitton,
another woman named as the dark lady a...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: