Shakespeare's Lady

by Alexa Schnee

  The sun itself sees not, till heaven clears.

  O cunning Love! with tears thou keep’st me blind,

  Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.

  CXLIX

  Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not,

  When I against myself with thee partake?

  Do I not think on thee, when I forgot

  Am of myself, all tyrant, for thy sake?

  Who hateth thee that I do call my friend,

  On whom frown’st thou that I do fawn upon,

  Nay, if thou lour’st on me, do I not spend

  Revenge upon myself with present moan?

  What merit do I in my self respect,

  That is so proud thy service to despise,

  When all my best doth worship thy defect,

  Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?

  But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind,

  Those that can see thou lov’st, and I am blind.

  CL

  O! from what power hast thou this powerful might,

  With insufficiency my heart to sway?

  To make me give the lie to my true sight,

  And swear that brightness doth not grace the day?

  Whence hast thou this becoming of things ill,

  That in the very refuse of thy deeds

  There is such strength and warrantise of skill,

  That, in my mind, thy worst all best exceeds?

  Who taught thee how to make me love thee more,

  The more I hear and see just cause of hate?

  O! though I love what others do abhor,

  With others thou shouldst not abhor my state:

  If thy unworthiness raised love in me,

  More worthy I to be beloved of thee.

  CLI

  Love is too young to know what conscience is,

  Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?

  Then, gentle cheater, urge not my amiss,

  Lest guilty of my faults thy sweet self prove:

  For, thou betraying me, I do betray

  My nobler part to my gross body’s treason;

  My soul doth tell my body that he may

  Triumph in love; flesh stays no farther reason,

  But rising at thy name doth point out thee,

  As his triumphant prize. Proud of this pride,

  He is contented thy poor drudge to be,

  To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy side.

  No want of conscience hold it that I call

  Her love, for whose dear love I rise and fall.

  CLII

  In loving thee thou know’st I am forsworn,

  But thou art twice forsworn, to me love swearing;

  In act thy bed-vow broke, and new faith torn,

  In vowing new hate after new love bearing:

  But why of two oaths’ breach do I accuse thee,

  When I break twenty? I am perjured most;

  For all my vows are oaths but to misuse thee,

  And all my honest faith in thee is lost:

  For I have sworn deep oaths of thy deep kindness,

  Oaths of thy love, thy truth, thy constancy;

  And, to enlighten thee, gave eyes to blindness,

  Or made them swear against the thing they see;

  For I have sworn thee fair; more perjured eye,

  To swear against the truth so foul a lie!

  CLIII

  Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep:

  A maid of Dian’s this advantage found,

  And his love-kindling fire did quickly steep

  In a cold valley-fountain of that ground;

  Which borrowed from this holy fire of Love,

  A dateless lively heat, still to endure,

  And grew a seething bath, which yet men prove

  Against strange maladies a sovereign cure.

  But at my mistress’ eye Love’s brand new-fired,

  The boy for trial needs would touch my breast;

  I, sick withal, the help of bath desired,

  And thither hied, a sad distempered guest,

  But found no cure, the bath for my help lies

  Where Cupid got new fire; my mistress’ eyes.

  CLIV

  The little Love-god lying once asleep,

  Laid by his side his heart-inflaming brand,

  Whilst many nymphs that vowed chaste life to keep

  Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand

  The fairest votary took up that fire

  Which many legions of true hearts had warmed;

  And so the General of hot desire

  Was, sleeping, by a virgin hand disarmed.

  This brand she quenched in a cool well by,

  Which from Love’s fire took heat perpetual,

  Growing a bath and healthful remedy,

  For men diseased; but I, my mistress’ thrall,

  Came there for cure and this by that I prove,

  Love’s fire heats water, water cools not love.

  AN EXCERPT FROM SALVE DEUS REX JUDÆORUM [“EVE’S APOLOGIE”]

  Now Pontius Pilate is to judge the Cause

  Of faultlesse Jesus, who before him stands;

  Who neither hath offended Prince, nor Lawes,

  Although he now be brought in woefull bands:

  O noble Governour, make thou yet a pause,

  Doe not in innocent blood imbrue thy hands; 750

  But heare the words of thy most worthy wife,

  Who sends to thee, to beg her Saviour’s life.

  Let barb’rous crueltie farre depart from thee,

  And in true Justice take afflictions part;

  Open thine eies, that thou the truth mai’st see,

  Doe not the thing that goes against thy heart,

  Condemne not him that must thy Saviour be;

  But view his holy Life, his good desert.

  Let not us Women glory in Men’s fall,

  Who had power given to over-rule us all. 760

  Till now your indiscretion sets us free,

  And makes our former fault much lesse appeare;

  Our Mother Eve, who tasted of the Tree,

  Giving to Adam what she held most deare,

  Was simply good, and had no powre to see,

  The after-comming harme did not appeare:

  The subtile Serpent that our Sex betraide,

  Before our fall so sure a plot had laide.

  That undiscerning Ignorance perceav’d

  No guile, or craft that was by him intended; 770

  For, had she knowne of what we were bereav’d,

  To his request she had not condiscended

  But she (poore soule) by cunning was deceav’d,

  No hurt therein her harmelesse Heart intended:

  For she alleadg’d God’s word, which he denies,

  That they should die, but even as Gods, be wise.

  But surely Adam can not be excus’d,

  Her fault, though great, yet hee was most too blame;

  What Weaknesse offerd, Strength might have refus’d,

  Being Lord of all, the greater was his shame: 780

  Although the Serpents craft had her abus’d,

  God’s holy word ought all his actions frame:

  For he was Lord and King of all the earth,

  Before poore Eve had either life or breath.

  Who being fram’d by God’s eternall hand,

  The perfect’st man that ever breath’d on earth;

  And from God’s mouth receiv’d that strait command,

  The breach whereof he knew was present death:

  Yea having powre to rule both Sea and Land,

  Yet with one Apple wonne to loose that breath, 790

  Which God hath breathed in his beauteous face,

  Bringing us all in danger and disgrace.

  And then to lay the fault on Patience backe,

  That we (poore women) must endure it all;

  We know right well he did discretion lacke,

  Beeing n
ot perswaded thereunto at all;

  If Eve did erre, it was for knowledge sake,

  The fruit beeing faire perswaded him to fall:

  No subtill Serpents falshood did betray him,

  If he would eate it, who had powre to stay him? 800

  Not Eve, whose fault was onely too much love,

  Which made her give this present to her Deare,

  That what shee tasted, he likewise might prove,

  Whereby his knowledge might become more cleare;

  He never sought her weakenesse to reprove,

  With those sharpe words, which he of God did heare:

  Yet Men will boast of Knowledge, which he tooke

  From Eves faire hand, as from a learned Booke.

  If any Evill did in her remaine,

  Beeing made of him, he was the ground of all; 810

  If one of many Worlds could lay a staine

  Upon our Sexe, and worke so great a fall

  To wretched Man, by Satan’s subtill traine;

  What will so fowle a fault amongst you all?

  Her weakenesse did the Serpent’s words obay;

  But you in malice Gods deare Sonne betray.

  Whom, if unjustly you condemne to die,

  Her sinne was small, to what you doe commit;

  All mortall sinnes that doe for vengeance crie,

  Are not to be compared unto it: 820

  If many worlds would altogether trie,

  By all their sinnes the wrath of God to get;

  This sinne of yours, surmounts them all as farre

  As doth the Sunne, another little starre.

  Then let us have our Libertie againe,

  And challendge to your selves no Sov’raigntie;

  You came not in the world without our paine,

  Make that a barre against your crueltie;

  Your fault beeing greater, why should you disdaine

  Our beeing your equals, free from tyranny? 830

  If one weake woman simply did offend,

  This sinne of yours, hath no excuse, nor end.

  To which (poore soules) we never gave consent,

  Witnesse thy wife (O Pilate) speakes for all;

  Who did but dreame, and yet a message sent,

  That thou should’st have nothing to doe at all

  With that just man; which, if thy heart relent,

  Why wilt thou be a reprobate with Saul?

  To seeke the death of him that is so good,

  For thy soules health to shed his dearest blood.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. This book plays with the line between fantasy and reality. How do you see this playing out in the story?

  2. Emilia’s ideas about purity and morality differ from our own. What do you think about them?

  3. Emilia talks several times in the book about not having a choice about how she lives her life. How much do you think this is true?

  4. The queen plays many roles in Emilia’s life—ruler, leader, mother, and God-like figure. Which do you think Emilia feels most? Needs most?

  5. Emilia competes with Shakespeare’s plays for attention throughout the story. Which do you think he ultimately loves more?

  6. All of the women in this story struggle with duty versus love. How do you see the characters wrestling with this? Which, ultimately, do you think brings them the most happiness?

  7. Would you rather be happy or remembered? Do you think Emilia achieved either?

  Table of Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Part One

  Part Two

  Part Three

  Author’s Note

  Bibliography

  The Dark Lady Sonnets

  An Excerpt From Salve Deus Rex Judæorum [“Eve’s Apologie”]

  Discussion Questions