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.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Dark Lady canonical 3
Dark Lady sonnets 2
Dark Lady sequence 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (78)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Shakespearean character
literary character
poetic addressee
appearsIn Shakespearean sonnets
linked to: Sonnets

Shakespeare’s later sonnets
linked to: Sonnets
appearsInWorkRange Shakespeare sonnets 127–154
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
createdBy William Shakespeare
createdInLanguage Early Modern English
createdInPeriod Elizabethan era
linked to: English Renaissance
describedBy William Shakespeare
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
Sonnet 130
Sonnet 131
Sonnet 132
Sonnet 133
Sonnet 134
Sonnet 135
Sonnet 136
Sonnet 137
Sonnet 138
Sonnet 139
Sonnet 140
Sonnet 141
Sonnet 142
Sonnet 147
Sonnet 148
Sonnet 150
Sonnet 151
Sonnet 152
Sonnet 153
Sonnet 154
hasProposedRealIdentity Emilia Lanier
linked to: Aemilia Lanyer

Lucy Negro
Mary Fitton
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

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

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

Sonnets mainAddresseeGroup Dark Lady
Fair Youth contrastedWith Dark Lady
Sonnet 144 traditionallyAssociatedWith Dark Lady sequence
linked to: Dark Lady
Sonnet 138 isOftenGroupedWith Dark Lady sonnets
linked to: Dark Lady
Sonnet 147 partOf Dark Lady sonnets
linked to: Dark Lady
Sonnet 147 addressee Dark Lady