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Who was the "Fair Youth?
16
What about Shakespeare?
So what do the Fair Lady sonnets suggest about Shakespeare?
Yeah, it's gotta be him.
Most likely?
Homosexuality
Southhampton
And not so likely...
Some believe that the relationship between the speaker and the Fair Youth portray Shakespeare's own bisexuality. Shakespeare was a married man, with three children in fact. Is this suggesting that Shakespeare had an affair? No historical evidence exists that Shakespeare was homosexual; at the same time, we are forced to think of the relationship between Shakespeare and his works...do they reflect personal feelings?
The Language
Pembroke
Who was "W.H"?
The sonnets' publishing note suggests that the Fair Youth may actually have been a real man in Shakespeare's life, referred to as "W.H.", who the poems were dedicated to. Two popular theories exist:
1) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southhampton
2) William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
Scholars suggest that perhaps the sweet, elaborate, and even suggestive language of Shakespeare in this time was commonplace and understandable in writing. Thus, romance may not play the main role in these poems. However, sections of the Fair Youth sonnets do suggest sexual lust towards him by the speaker.
As a side note...
Most of the sexual references in the sonnets refer to the "Dark Lady", who will be explained in the next presentation.
The "Fair Youth"
The "Fair Youth" is a mysterious character who is addressed by the speaker in Shakespeare's sonnets 1-126.
What was the nature of the relationship between the Fair Youth and the speaker?
Who is the Speaker?
What does he write?
Who is he?
The speaker conveys to the reader, the Fair Youth, a deep friendship as well as a strong desire for the young man to have a child. Says the speaker,
"But were some child of yours alive that time [in the future],
You should live it twice, in it, and in my rhyme."
He is clearly stating his goal: to keep the image of the Fair Youth alive forever.
- romantic?
-father-son?
-sexual?
-platonic?
The Fair Youth himself is described as a young, aristocratic, and handsome young man. He is the subject of these sonnets.
The speaker is revealed to be an older man in his middle years who has a deep relationship with the Fair Youth. The speaker reveals later on in the succession of sonnets that he is writing poetry in order to preserve the Fair Youth's "beauty".
When were the Fair Youth Sonnets Written?
1592-1594