Dark Lady

E493813

The Dark Lady is the mysterious, morally ambiguous woman addressed in William Shakespeare’s later sonnets, noted for her sensuality, infidelity, and complex relationship with the poet.

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Statements (78)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Shakespearean character
literary character
poetic addressee
appearsIn Shakespearean sonnets NERFINISHED
Shakespeare’s later sonnets NERFINISHED
appearsInWorkRange Shakespeare sonnets 127–154 NERFINISHED
associatedWithTheme betrayal
conflict between love and reason
jealousy
lust
moral corruption
racialized beauty standards
characterizedBy cruelty
dark beauty
emotional complexity
infidelity
moral ambiguity
physical attractiveness
sensuality
sexuality
unfaithfulness
contrastedWith Fair Youth of the sonnets NERFINISHED
createdBy William Shakespeare NERFINISHED
createdInLanguage Early Modern English NERFINISHED
createdInPeriod Elizabethan era NERFINISHED
describedBy William Shakespeare NERFINISHED
hasColorAssociation dark complexion
dark eyes
dark hair
hasLiteraryFunction embodies anti-Petrarchan mistress
subverts Petrarchan ideal of fair beauty
hasNameStatus pseudonymous figure
unnamed character
hasNotableWork Sonnet 127 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 130 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 131 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 132 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 133 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 134 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 135 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 136 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 137 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 138 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 139 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 140 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 141 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 142 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 147 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 148 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 150 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 151 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 152 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 153 NERFINISHED
Sonnet 154 NERFINISHED
hasProposedRealIdentity Emilia Lanier NERFINISHED
Lucy Negro NERFINISHED
Mary Fitton NERFINISHED
other Elizabethan women
hasRelationshipType adulterous relationship
erotic relationship
exploitative relationship
hasRelationshipWith Shakespearean sonnet speaker
hasRoleInNarrative love interest of the poet-speaker
object of desire
source of emotional torment
identityStatus historically uncertain
subject of scholarly debate
involvesLoveTriangleWith poet-speaker and Fair Youth
portrayedAs emotionally manipulative
married woman
musician or singer
sexually promiscuous
socially inferior
untrustworthy
studiedInField English literature
Shakespeare studies
feminist literary criticism
race and early modern studies

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sonnets mainAddresseeGroup Dark Lady