Shakespeare
Short History Of...
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What Is the Dark Lady?
Some argue that his frequent mention of a fair youth in the sonnets suggests that he was gay and had a young male muse. Others argue that the fair youth refers to his lost son Hamnet. In the sonnets, he also mentions a dark lady, a woman with curly hair and done-coloured skin. Is this dark lady the love of his life? Not Anne Hathaway, but a mysterious woman of colour who mesmerised Shakespeare in London. There are endless theories that she was an aristocratic met at court, or a woman of African origin who owned a tavern. Or was she a prostitute, or a fellow poet? Maybe she was the performer who appeared on stage in 16
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