Burl, Aubrey. "The Mistress of the Dark Lady Revealed." Shakespeare's Mistress. 2-6

Paper Type:  Annotated bibliography
Pages:  3
Wordcount:  593 Words
Date:  2022-04-25

Burl present an unusual rather important description of the possible candidate for the position of the dark lady of the sonnets. His work involves a description of different women with a different character as the possibility of being the famous dark lady of the sonnets (Burl 5). Burl does a character analysis from which he eliminates those identified people who do not match the description of the sonnets but are suspected. This analysis leaves a possibility of eight candidates as possible faces behind the name of the famous dark lady of the sonnets. Some of the names match with research findings of other writers while others do not match any writers work. Some of the popular names identified by burl include Emilia Lanier, Lucy Morgan, and Mrs. Florence among others (Burl 6). Burl does not give conclusive results as to whom the dark lady of the sonnets could be but suggest Mrs. Florence as the possible person for this position.

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It is possible that the research done by Burl is important for the study of the face behind the character of the dark lady of the sonnets. The importance of this work is in the fact that it does not study only one character but conducts an analysis of different possible candidates so as to come up with the most favorable candidate for the position. The fact that the research work examines several individuals makes it a suitable literature material for the study. Additionally, the research work would be preferred because it also considers the facts and opinions present by other research works before it makes its conclusion. The work of Burl gives the readers an opportunity to make their own independent choice since they are presented with a list of an individual whose personality may suite that of the dark lady of the sonnets.

Holderness, Graham. "Who Was William Shakespeare?." Memoria di Shakespeare. A Journal of Shakespearean Studies 2 (2015): 61-79.

The dark Lady of Sonnet is believed to be a prostitute who had inspired the writing of Shakespeare. Her name is Lucy Negro and it is possible that she was a brothel keeper. The identity of the lady in the Sonnets 127 and 152 is a great mystery that is unraveled from the personality of the description given to this lady in the sonnets (Holderness 63). The information given by the sonnets include majorly her looks such as complexion of her eyes, dark hair and dark eyes. Aside from this, the fact that she was married is important in her identity. This means that any woman identified to be the dark of the sonnets must be married with dark hair, complexion, and eyes. Shakespeare mentions in Sonnet 144 that she is her bad girl. According to this work the sentence, 'bad girl' could allude to her being a prostitute thus useful in her identification (Holderness 67).

This research is useful in seeking to identify the dark lady of the sonnet. The reference to the sonnets makes the research useful as the evidence in the research are supported by the descriptions given by Shakespeare. Additionally, the research work plays an important role in the identification process since it gives a possible name for the dark lady of the sonnet. Even though the reader could argue for or against the research and analysis done in the work, the literature gives sufficient evidence to prove that Lucy Negro is the dark lady of the sonnets.

Works Cited

Burl, Aubrey. "The Mistress of the Dark Lady Revealed." Shakespeare's Mistress. 5-6

Holderness, Graham. "Who Was William Shakespeare?." Memoria di Shakespeare. A Journal of Shakespearean Studies 2 (2015): 61-79

Cite this page

Burl, Aubrey. "The Mistress of the Dark Lady Revealed." Shakespeare's Mistress. 2-6. (2022, Apr 25). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/burl-aubrey-the-mistress-of-the-dark-lady-revealed-shakespeares-mistress-2-6

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