And says that the young man is an angel and saint (Malabika 348). .
The Dark Lady: "She possesses little physical attraction other than her bewitching eyes, has coarse dark hair, and a dark complexion [ ] strikingly red lips, a voice not altogether pleasing, is older than Shakespeare, and known by him to be an adulterous already. Yet he is fascinated, fascinated even while repelled" (Hallett 118). Where would one come to this characterization of someone that is not specifically mentioned. Well the most conclusive evidence is Sonnet 130:.
.
"My mistress" eyes are nothing like the sun, .
Coral is far more red, than her lips red,.
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun:.
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head:.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white, .
But no such roses I see in her cheeks, .
And in some perfumes is there more delight,.
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. .
I love hear her speak, yet will I know, .
That the music hath a far more pleasing sound: .
I grant I never saw a goddess go, .
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. .
And yet by heaven I think my love as rare,.
As any she belied with false compare." .
When reading this poem you might think that he is intentionally criticizing his dark lady but in fact he is praising her because of the fact that she is one of a kind. "Shakespeare refuses to compare his mistress to the sun, to coral, to white snow, or to the fine gold thread ("wires") used in Elizabethan jewelry. In doing so, he question the use of metaphor and simile use in poetry, because they untruthfully and dishonestly glorify other women [ ] the dark lady is beautiful without these hallow and spurious comparisons" (Gibson 153). The way he chooses to describe this dark lady is very interesting. It is interesting because he says this but his choice of words say more than a normal poet of the time. She is not just a lady to Shakespeare. Even if (according to the society) she was not attractive, he found everything about her flawless.
