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Shakespeare's Sonnets

by William Shakespeare

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Can Kim F. Hall's analysis in "Fair Texts/Dark Ladies: Renaissance Lyric and the Poetics of Color" illuminate racial assumptions in the following Shakespeare sonnet?

A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change as is false women’s fashion; An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created, Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.

AI Generated Answer

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This is Sonnet 20, one of William Shakespeare's famous 154 sonnets. In "Fair Texts/Dark Ladies: Renaissance Lyric and the Poetics of Color," Kim F Hall explores the racial implications of color language in Renaissance literature. Through her lens, we can see the potential racial assumptions in this sonnet.

In Sonnet 20, the speaker describes a young man with feminine beauty, who is more faithful than women and who captivates both men and women. The phrase "A man in hue, all hues in his controlling" suggests that the young man's beauty surpasses all others. The term "hue" can be interpreted as both color and appearance, and thus can be read as a reference to skin color.

Hall's analysis would suggest that the language of color in this sonnet is not neutral but fraught with racial implications. The sonnet seems to place a high value on the young man's color, which can be interpreted as whiteness. The beauty of this man, who is described as having a face "with nature's own hand painted," is contrasted with the "false women's fashion" and their "false" eyes. The language suggests a dichotomy between the natural, genuine beauty of the young man and the artificiality associated with women, who might be darker-skinned.

The sonnet's focus on the young man's color as a marker of his beauty reflects the racial assumptions of the period, which Hall argues, were that whiteness was synonymous with beauty, purity, and virtue, while darkness was associated with deceit, ugliness, and immorality.

However, it's also important to note that these interpretations depend on reading the sonnet through a racial lens, which is only one of many possible approaches. Other readers might focus on the sonnet's exploration of gender, love, or beauty, for example.

Expert Answers

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The AI-generated reply is correct but needs clarification in its second paragraph.

The first paragraph is does a good job of connecting Kim F. Hall’s explorations of “the racial implications of color language in Renaissance literature” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 20.

The second paragraph, however, requires a more accurate explanation of the “color language” or poet’s word choice. True, in this sonnet, the speaker exalts a young man who possesses stunning beauty that is feminine and unadorned (“nature’s own hand painted”). The young man has facial beauty, a gentle and steadfast nature, and the power to imbue objects with incredible luster and value.

However, the AI-generated description

The phrase "A man in hue, all hues in his controlling" suggests that the young man's beauty surpasses all others.

is imprecise and general. “Hue” refers to the young man’s overall bodily appearance—his physical form and shape. The line “all hues in his controlling” can mean that he has self-discipline and power over not only his own but also everyone else’s bodies. His beauty commands others; it “steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.”

Nonetheless, the last sentence in the second paragraph

The term "hue" can be interpreted as both color and appearance, and thus can be read as a reference to skin color.

is accurate in that the word “hue” today usually refers to color or shade. It leads well into the analysis in the third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs, which are all accurate in content.

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