Critical Discourse Analysis of the Figurative Language in the Shakespearean Dark Lady Sonnets

Abstract

The present research aims to critically analyze the discourse of figurative language used in the Shakespearian Dark Lady Sonnets. The content analysis approach was used for this study to analyze the data. The population of the present research comprises 154 Shakespearean sonnets categorized in three groups, first group called “Fair Youth Sonnets” contains on the 126 sonnets; the second group termed as “Dark Lady Sonnets” contains on the 26 sonnets; and the third group known as “the Greek Sonnets”. The researchers used purposive sampling technique and selected the twenty-seven “Dark Lady Sonnets” as research sample for data collection. The findings of the research publicized that William Shakespeare used discourse in figurative language in these selected “Dark Lady Sonnets”. This masterpiece research will prove valuable for future researchers and scholars.