Do Shakespeares Sonnets Suggest That He Was a Homosexual?
.. …….Some Shakespeare interpreters maintain that his sonnets to the young man are expressions of homosexual love. They make this assertion even though no evidence exists in the record of Shakespeare’s life or in reports on his friendships, his marriage, and his social activities to indicate that he was anything but heterosexual. Only one reference to homosexuality occurs in his plays. This referencewhich begins at Line 14 in Act V, Scene I, of Troilus and Cressidacondemns homosexuality in strong, insulting terms. The speaker is Thersites, a Greek with a scurrilous tongue. He addresses Patroclus, famous in Greek mythology as the male paramour of Achilles, the greatest warrior on either side in the Trojan War. Here is the exchange between Thersites and Patroclus: …………..THERSITES Prithee, be silent, boy; I profit not by thy talk: …………………thou art thought to be Achilles’ male varlet. [varlet: attendant, page, slave] …………..PATROCLUS Male varlet, you rogue!
