Philip Hensher

The clue to Shakespeare’s sexuality lies in the sonnets

They are quite unlike any other sonnet sequence of the time and seem to be a kind of personal statement – written by a man with undeniable feelings for another man

The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare. [Getty Imges] 
issue 06 July 2024
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  • Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare

    Will Tosh

    Sphere, pp. 292, £25

The question ‘Was Shakespeare gay?’ is not very rational. It might be a little like asking ‘Was Shakespeare a Tory?’. Some of his scenarios might coincide with later developments – Jaques trying to pick up Ganymede in As You Like It (gay), or Ulysses’s speech on degree in Troilus and Cressida (Tory).

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