Many people attempt to identify the "dark lady". Who is she?
It was quite common for courtiers to be what we now call
homosexuals. Some of these men were intimate with both men
and women. The typical situation is that women were viewed
as breeding machines, as the men spent (literally) their
time with other men. Why so? Women, with rare exceptions,
were totally illiterate. Educated men sought other educated
men to spend their time with. These other men, educated,
could engage in discussions of the educated, appreciate
art, etc.: were truly human. The several men that collaborated
and used the uneducated William Shakespear as a front, were
such homosexuals. 1
No need to identify the "dark lady": no such person is relevant.
Shakespeare's sonnets typically are composed in iambic pentameter (five feet).
An iamb is composed of two syllables, an unstressed, then a stressed:
* /, thus iambic pentameter is:
* / * / * / * / * /
(five iambs). As opposed to iambic, there is trochaic, as in
trochaic pentameter:
/ * / * / * / * / *
Another form is Anapest. Anapest couplet is:
* * / * * /
while a Dactylic tercet is:
/ * * / * * / * *
Last to be discussed is Amphibrach. An amphibrach couplet is:
* / * * / *
A sonnet is composed of 14 lines
(there are exceptions, click to see an example)
and are of the following form (Shakespearian sonnets):
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Three quatrains (a quatrain is four lines) and a terminal
couplet. Often the first couplet of the third quatrain has a
volta that inverts the meter, thus the meter of the third
quatraine forms a palindrome:
* / / *.
There are other sonnet forms, such as the Petrarchan sonnet:
octave (propasition or question) sestet (resolution) or
ABBA ABBA CDCDCD or ABBA ABBA CDEEDE
Another form is the Spenserian sonnet:
ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Note that the
first quatrain ABAB interweaves two
palindromes, thus ABAB is ABA
followed by BAB, then the second
quatrain BCBC interweaves two
palindromes, thus BCBC is BCB
followed by CBC, then the third
quatrain CDCD interweaves two
palindromes, thus CDCD is CDC
followed by DCD (the third quatrain
may have a volta, too).
Dante Alighieri used interwoven palindromes in his "terza rima" ("Inferno").
Thus:
The sonnet was first created by Giacomo da Lentini (1210-1260).
Sonnets were often accompanied by troubadours and trobairitz
(female troubadours). In England, the sonnet made its first
appearance with Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542). In addition to the
sonnet forms, two other forms occur: the madrigalls and the
sestines (six sestets ending in an "envoie" [a tercet],
thus 6 x 6 + 3 = 39 lines). Information concerning these poetic
forms may be found in "William Drummond of Hawthornden".
The interest here in these sonnets is to show aspects of
racism, based upon "blackness" that formed a basis of a
culture of Colonialist Imperialism: the foundation of
racism found throughout the British Empire. This ideology
was based upon a misogynist view of women, and a deeply
racist views of the slaves employed throughout the British
Empire, as well as other aspects of art, such as paintings
used to celebrate national conquest (as well as personal
sexual conquest).
Yes, it is disappointing that some of our heroes (and heroines)
are misogynists and racists, and sexually "deviant". Thus
Shakespeare, Spencer, etc. Such limitations were common. All
were people limited by their limited societies. For those that
disagree, examine the books in the bibliography. These books
were chosen for the expertice of their authors, not their
personal biases. Of course, such hateful biases were not limited
to the British, but were commonly found throughout Europe: France,
Germany, Spain, etc. Forms of rhetoric such as poetry, theatre
and visual art focused upon racism, but not limited to these forms
of rhetoric: politically oriented literature as well. Thus while
the Spanish crown published the "Summary of the Destruction of
the Indies" by Frey Bartolomé de Las Casas" (the Black Legend),
in 1588 England destroyed the Spanish Armada, and translated the
Leyenda Negra into English during the period of 1558-1660 in its bid
to overtake the Iberian empire of a joined Portugal and Spain.
Finally, be wary. Words have a symbolic, hidden meaning, known to
educated contemporaries, but unknown to modern readers. Thus for
example, "hell" (a warm place, Dante tells us) often refers to a
woman's vagina.
1
Francis Bacon was one of the very early members of the Freemasons and
the Rosicrucians in England. Francis Bacon used the glyph of Pallas
Athena. Pallas Athena is the Goddess of Intelligence and Enlightenment,
by means of whom Wisdom is born and made manifest in the world. Athena
is the Goddess of Fame, Patroness and Leader of the Seven Liberal Arts
and Sciences, Goddess of peace and all learning. Pallas Athena also means
"Spear Shaker". Francis Bacon often wrote anonymously, using many pen-names.
"Spear" was a symbol often used to refer to a pen. One adept with a spear
(sword) could mean one adept with the pen. Aside from Francis Bacon, there
were other possible authors that used "William Shake-speare" as a pseudonym.
Edward de Verre was nicknamed "spear-shaker". The Earl of Oxford also
might have been a spear shaker. Christopher Marlowe is yet another candidate
spear shaker. Furthermore, William Shakespear's parents were totally
illiterate. Six copies exist of William Shakespear's signature: the
signatures are of a person that can barely write. Is it likely that
Shakespeare wrote the works he is credit with, when he was in fact
illiterate? The works credited to William Shakespear show a familiarity
with the Royal court, but William Shakespear was not such a person.
Who in their right mind could credit an illiterate as the poet that
wrote some of the greatest works of English literature?
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