Critical Controversies on the Poet's Sexual Orientation to the Young Man in Shakespeare's Sonnets

Abstract

In this paper I reviewed diachronically the critical controversies on the poet’s sexual orientation to the young man in Shakespeare’s sonnets. It has been the center of critical controversies whether Shakespeare’s sonnets to the young man delineate homosexual desires. They are either deeply emotional expressions of love between male and male or subtle imitations of such expressions as flamboyant exercises in literary expression. Most of those who are against homosexual interpretation of the sonnets seem appalled at the prospect of what the reader will make of Shakespeare: Shakespeare, a national poet, is at greater risk of censorious distortion. So they are dedicated to proving that the poet-speaker is not a pederast, because they identify the experience of the poet-speaker with Shakespeare’s own. They acknowledge the presence of love between the poet and the young man, but not of homosexual desire. On the other hand, those who think that the poet-speaker expresses homosexual desire for the young man argue that verbal data proving their claim are clear and copious. Some of them acknowledge the presence of sexual desire between the two men, but not of sexual activity; and some acknowledge even the presence of sexual activity. Readings of Shakespeare’s Sonnets since they first appeared reflect changing cultural concerns and attitudes about the nature of sexuality. So if the assertion that these sonnets are unquestionably heterosexual is too dogmatic, so too is the assertion that they are undoubtedly the product of a homosexual relationship. The truism that no two people agree in interpreting the Sonnets is not cause for despair, but for rejoicing. It is open to each reader to reach an individual and original response. And it is the greatness of Shakespeare’s art that his sonnets enable us to enjoy the various interpretations of them.