It is also true that sodomy was a hanging offence. And nobody really questions whether those relationships were driven by sex or not. Women have best buddies, or bosom buddies, or whatever, but in fact in Shakespeare’s day, it was men who were thought to form these very, very close emotional, and emotionally reciprocal relationships. It’s also true that we now, in our society, have this idea that it’s women who form these very close, emotional friendships. And so, because the word ‘love’ covers such a broad spectrum of relationships in Shakespeare’s day, his use of it doesn’t tell you very much about his sexual feelings towards other people. It could mean a romantic relationship, as it does to us today, and it could mean the love which might exist between friends. It could mean a very dry, business relationship of patronage, and some people interpret the sonnets that way, as simply flattering poetry written towards a patron. We don’t hang around in ambiguous relationships, which have a bit “might be friendship and might be love” for any length of time.įor Shakespeare, the word ‘love’ could mean all sorts of things. And for us, the boundary between a love relationship and a friendship relationship is absolutely cut and dried. We say about two people, “Oh, they’re just friends”, meaning they’re definitely not lovers. Today, we have a very defined boundary between love and friendship, and for us, those two relationships are tangibly different, and we have all kinds of phraseology in the modern world to distinguish those things. However, it’s very easy for us to interpret this left of centre, because the word ‘love’ meant very differently in Tudor England. Some of the known facts are that some of his sonnets, which are definitely love poems, are written to a man because they have a male pronoun in them. So my first clip comes from Elizabeth Dollimore, who is the manager of Outreach and Primary Learning at the SBT, and she’s going to set us off exploring this question with a discussion on the nature of Tudor friendship and relationships.ĭOLLIMORE: I don’t know whether Shakespeare was gay or not, because he didn’t leave any personal record. We’ve covered in an earlier podcast Shakespeare’s relationship with his wife Anne, so, although she comes into this week’s discussion, she isn’t the main focus. They had three children together from two births, so their marriage must have been consummated at least twice, but that’s pretty much it. What do we know about his sexuality and his relationships? Well, we only know that he was married once, to a woman named Anne, and that they stayed married for the rest of their lives.
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So was Shakespeare gay? Well, quite simply, we don’t know.
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And in previous podcasts, I’ve played you lots of short clips from a variety of speakers, but this week I’m going to do it slightly differently, and play you fewer, longer clips, as the clips ought to be played in their entirety. So before we get started, just wanted to give you a wee trigger warning: although there’s nothing in this week’s content that’s meant to cause offence, it might raise some questions about some more adult themes, so you probably want to just give it a whizz through before listening along with any young listeners. I’m Jennifer Reid, and today we’re asking, “Was Shakespeare gay?” REID: Hello, and welcome to the seventh episode of “Let’s Talk Shakespeare”, a podcast brought to you from Stratford-upon-Avon by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Dr Elizabeth Dollimore, Outreach and Primary Learning Manager at the SBT - Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute - Professor Sir Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT - Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company This week's guests (in order of appearance) are: Image: Dedication in Shakespeare's Sonnets, discussed in this episode. Prices, booking, opening times and more to help you get organisedĮnjoy seasonal activities and special events throughout the year Walk in Shakespeare’s footsteps at Shakespeare's New Place Relive Shakespeare's love story at Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Visit William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK and explore Shakespeare's childhood world, right where it all began.