Sexual Manifesto: Homosexual Desires

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Sexual Manifesto: Homosexual Desires in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 135 William Shakespeare, an English writer born in 1564, had written numerous works that have been dedicated to an individual named Henry Wriothesley, a nobleman from the United Kingdom. Shakespeare’s first published books, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, each began with a short appreciative note to Wriothesley, expressing his gratitude and love. Shakespeare continued his praise and admirableness towards Wriothesley in his sonnets. However, Shakepseare disclosed his speaker’s attraction towards a character named the Golden Young Man. Many believe this character to be Wriothesely himself due to hints Shakespeare makes towards the identity of the Golden Young Man. …show more content…

Homoerotic can be defined as an attraction towards an individual of the same sex. Even though there is no distinct evidence of the speakers’ sex, the repeated word “will” used throughout the sonnet acts as evidence that the speaker is both man and homosexual. The word “will” has multiple meanings, one being the speakers’ name (Will). However, it could also be used to mean penis, sexual desire and/or to express a request. Within the context of this sonnet, the speaker is trying to convince the Golden Young Man to be his sexual partner. Specifically, lines five through six state, “Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious, not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?” The speaker is using the word “will” to mean penis, for erect penises are large and go into something when used for sexual pleasure, hence the phrase, “hide my will in thine.” However, “will” is used to mean both sexual desire and penis when the speaker says, “…one will of mine, to make thy large Will more” (12). The first “will” is used to portray the speakers’ want, as compared to the second “will” that is used to explicitly refer to his penis. Furthermore, there are multiple instances in this sonnet that describe “will” in a sexual manor. For example, as previously stated, the word “large” is repeated throughout the sonnet. Additionally, line two reads, “…and Will in overplus…” as

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