Sammy Katz sonnet 131 summary

SONNET 131

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.

Sonnet 131 addresses Shakespeare's dysfunctional relationship with the dark lady. The sonnet is very contradictory. At first, Shakespeare will say that she is very beautiful then he says that she is very harsh and tyrannical. He backs her up by saying that he thinks she is perfect but then addresses how others hate her. This sonnet is tough to judge but I understand this as a dysfunctional relationship. 

A.L. Rowse says that this sonnet is a strait forward way of telling who the dark lady was. Her deeds were dark however, to Shakespeare, "Black is the fairest".