Shakespeare's Sonnets and the Court of Navarre

This text suggests that the lost frame of reference for the sonnets is to be found in France. The Dark Lady, it appears, was French and the sonnet story took place not in England but in the Court of Navarre. Moreover, the lady was not Shakespeare's mistress, for he was not the original sonnet poet but an adapter, who turned French sonnets into English. This thesis points to solutions for many problems, including Shakespearean riddles involving the persoanae of "Love's Labour's Lost", "A Lover's Complaint" and even provides convincing identities for Sghakespeare's Phoenix and Turtle. The texts of the Sonnets and of Shakespeare's two other "Navarre" poems are provided together with commentaries and notes. The order of the Sonnets does not require to be altered for the interpretation, however the text is modernised and includes several new emendations as well as those commonly accepted in modern editions.