Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Dark Lady Sonnets

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:

Terza rima

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". Clich here for more information.

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.

Eight of Dark Lady Sonnets: 127 through 154

  1. Dark Lady Sonnet 127
  2. Dark Lady Sonnet 129
  3. Dark Lady Sonnet 130
  4. Dark Lady Sonnet 132
  5. Dark Lady Sonnet 144
  6. Dark Lady Sonnet 145
  7. Dark Lady Sonnet 146
  8. Dark Lady Sonnet 154

Other Sonneteers
Click to see other sonneteers

Imperialistic Jewelery as Ideology

  1. Drake jewel
  2. Sir Frances Drake
  3. Gresley jewel
  4. Blackamoor cameo ring
  5. Blackamoor cameo: c. 1600

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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