Sonnet 131
Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,
tyranny
beauty
desire
obsession
Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,
As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;
For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart
Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan:
To say they err I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And, to be sure that is not false I swear,
A thousand groans, but thinking on thy face,
One on another's neck, do witness bear
Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place.
In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,
And thence this slander, as I think, proceeds.
What It Means
Shakespeare's mistress is tyrannous the way the most beautiful woman is tyrannous — yet he doesn't think she's conventionally beautiful, and other people don't either. But when he says she is cruel, his groaning proves it. His suffering is the evidence of her power. You don't need to be the most beautiful person to have absolute power over someone.
Context
Part of the Dark Lady sequence.
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