Critical Discourse Analysis of the Symbolic Language in Shakespeare’s Selected Dark Lady Sonnets

Abstract

The English national poet William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, which are commonly divided into three categories: the “Fair Youth Sonnets” (126 sonnets), the “Dark Lady Sonnets” (26 sonnets), and the “Greek Sonnet.”(02 sonnets). The current study aims to conduct a critical discourse analysis of the symbolic language employed in Shakespeare’s Dark Lady Sonnets. A content analysis method was adopted to examine the data. The study's population includes the 26 sonnets, known as “Dark Lady Sonnets”. Using a purposive sampling technique, the researchers selected six sonnets (127, 128, 129, 130, 131 and 132) from the Dark Lady collection as the sample for data analysis. The findings reveal that Shakespeare effectively utilized symbolic discourse throughout these selected sonnets. This study offers valuable insights and is expected to serve as a useful resource for future researchers and literary scholars.