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| | Shakespeare was a [[conservative]] then, and even more so by today's standards. His play ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' is anti-[[feminist]] and censored from some schools today for that reason. Major conservative themes in his works include the sacred nature of the family in [[King Lear]], the recognition of God in his plays and personal life, the existence of necessary war in ''[[The Famous Life of King Henry V]]'', and the exposed injustice of taxation in [[Coriolanus]]. Not surprisingly, modern [[liberal]] literary critics often ignore these themes because of their place on the modern political spectrum. Shakespeare's hilarious jokes were often at the expense of the [[liberal]] base, such as his following quip by Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'': "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."<ref>Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73.</ref> Shakespeare was [[politically incorrect]]. | | Shakespeare was a [[conservative]] then, and even more so by today's standards. His play ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' is anti-[[feminist]] and censored from some schools today for that reason. Major conservative themes in his works include the sacred nature of the family in [[King Lear]], the recognition of God in his plays and personal life, the existence of necessary war in ''[[The Famous Life of King Henry V]]'', and the exposed injustice of taxation in [[Coriolanus]]. Not surprisingly, modern [[liberal]] literary critics often ignore these themes because of their place on the modern political spectrum. Shakespeare's hilarious jokes were often at the expense of the [[liberal]] base, such as his following quip by Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'': "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."<ref>Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73.</ref> Shakespeare was [[politically incorrect]]. |
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| − | His sonnets hint that Shakespeare was aware of same-sex attractions. Many refer to a "Fair Lord" or "Fair Youth," who scholars assume is the same person as "Mr W.H.", to whom the sonnets are dedicated. Further evidence includes the fact that there are very few exclusive female pronouns in these sonnets. In particular, sonnet 20 asks whether the narrator, presumably a man, has fallen in love with was originally a woman turned into a man by nature, which implies that [[homosexuality]] is an aberrant form of [[sexuality]].
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| | == Works == | | == Works == |
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| | Despite the overwhelming evidence against the theory of Oxfordian authorship, a majority of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]—including Justices [[Antonin Scalia]], [[John Paul Stevens]], [[Lewis Powell]], [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], and [[Harry Blackmun]]—apparently all believed that the Earl of Oxford was the true author of [[Shakespeare]]'s works rather than the commoner from Stratford.<ref>http://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/end-of-an-oxfordian-era-on-the-supreme-court/</ref> Justice Scalia cited Shakespeare far more than any other Supreme Court Justice, according to one study.<ref>Scott Dodson & Ami Dodson, “Literary Justice,” 18 Green Bag 2d 429 (2015), cited by Professor Bryan H. Wildenthal, "End of an Oxfordian Era on the Supreme Court? | | Despite the overwhelming evidence against the theory of Oxfordian authorship, a majority of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]—including Justices [[Antonin Scalia]], [[John Paul Stevens]], [[Lewis Powell]], [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], and [[Harry Blackmun]]—apparently all believed that the Earl of Oxford was the true author of [[Shakespeare]]'s works rather than the commoner from Stratford.<ref>http://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/end-of-an-oxfordian-era-on-the-supreme-court/</ref> Justice Scalia cited Shakespeare far more than any other Supreme Court Justice, according to one study.<ref>Scott Dodson & Ami Dodson, “Literary Justice,” 18 Green Bag 2d 429 (2015), cited by Professor Bryan H. Wildenthal, "End of an Oxfordian Era on the Supreme Court? |
| | Remembering Justice Antonin Scalia (1936-2016)" (linked in prior footnote).</ref> | | Remembering Justice Antonin Scalia (1936-2016)" (linked in prior footnote).</ref> |
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| | + | == Sonnet controversy == |
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| | + | Love sonnet 20 appears to condemn [[homosexuality]] by asking whether the narrator, presumably a man, has fallen in love with was originally a woman turned into a man by nature, which implies that [[homosexuality]] is an aberrant form of [[sexuality]]. |
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| | + | Many of Shakespeare's sonnets are tributes to male beauty, but the narrator could have been a woman, or the love sonnets could be fantasies about a woman in love with Shakespeare. Other speculation is that Shakespeare was aware of same-sex attractions. Many refer to a "Fair Lord" or "Fair Youth," who scholars assume is the same person as "Mr W.H.", to whom the sonnets are dedicated. Further evidence includes the fact that there are very few exclusive female pronouns in these sonnets. |
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| | == List of plays<ref>[http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/bibliography/bibliography.htm Bibliography]</ref> == | | == List of plays<ref>[http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/bibliography/bibliography.htm Bibliography]</ref> == |