One Hell of a Woman: Sonnet 144 Anonymous 11th Grade

On the surface, William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 144” presents men and women in chiaroscuro, or strong contrasts. Since this sonnet is one of his later ones, and thus adopts a scornful and misogynistic tone after the mysterious Dark Lady steals away Shakespeare’s beloved Young Man, it is fitting that he should revert to a rather simplistic portrayal of womanhood. Depicting women in derisive language while extolling the virtues of men, comparing them to devils and angels, it seems obvious that he speaks of a clear dichotomy amongst the sexes and of woman’s alluring yet corrupting qualities. Underneath this exterior, however, lies a much more skewed and complex view of womanhood, gender, sexuality, and the society that defines all three. A deep perusal of the text reveals deceptively and, even accidentally, blurred gender roles and deep-seeded sexual ambiguity. The poem sounds like a torrent of worry and indecision regarding Shakespeare’s uncertainty regarding his sexual orientation.

At its most basic level, the sonnet most clearly recounts Shakespeare’s resentment of a woman who plucked his lover away from him and his ensuing hatred of women. The lover of which he speaks is apparently male, as shown when he states that a “female...