Introducing Shakespeare: A Graphic Guide - Nick Groom, Piero 2013

Queer Theory

It was suggested as early as 1824 that Shakespeare may have been homosexual, but Queer Theory (Gay criticism) finds little to say about the plays …

THOUGH THERE ARE OF COURSE NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS … RICHARD II AND CORIOLANUS. BUT IT IS INTERESTINGLY FOCUSED ON THE SONNETS AND THEIR ROLE IN HOMO-SEXUAL EMANCIPATION … ESPECIALLY IN THE HANDS OF OSCAR WILDE DURING HIS TRIAL.

Although the Sonnets are really “pre-homosexual”, their critical heritage is of great interest in the genesis of 20th-century homosexual politics.