Essay Comparing Desire In Sonnet 20 And Byron's Te

Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare's Sonnet 20 and Byron's To Thyrza

Crompton states in his epilogue "...diverse sexual lifestyles still arouse apprehension even when they threaten no direct harm to others. In this particular matter, our culture faces business unfinished by the Enlightenment" (381). Examining Byron and Shakespeare's poetry, opens a window to the prevailing sexual attitude of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and defines more clearly the intent of these poets. A sexual metamorphosis involving the realization of homosexual desires and nonconventional erotic preferences occurs in both Lord Byron's "To Thyrza" and William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 20", but the poets, known for the gender ambiguity in their prose and personal relationships, differ greatly in their portrayal of homosexuality and the effect that homosexuality had on both

Shakespeare's words prove that he is not an active homosexual: "By adding one thing, to my purpose nothing." The punning couplet at the end of the poem is Shakespeare's humorous way of saying that physical love between the young man and himself is ridiculous and improbable: "But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure/Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure." Shakespeare realizes that his inexorable attraction to the young man is abnormal; therefore, he neglects his desires and permits women to enjoy his personal subject. Shakespeare exemplifies in "Sonnet 20" a rather obvious dilemma. He has obtained a lovely mistress with whom he is enamored and to whom he addresses his fervent verse. But, this mistress is "prick'd out" for women (Wells 20). It is this dilemma that does not allow Shakespeare to directly state the subject of his poem; therefore, he maintains the anonymity of the subject. Although Shakespeare faces this dilemma in his poem, it is highly unlikely that he allowed himself to act on his homosexual urges (Vendler