Homosexuality in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Before I discuss the possibility of Antonio's sadness being caused by his love for Bassanio, I must point out that there are scholars who do not believe that Antonio harbors any homoerotic feelings towards Bassanio. Danson, while conceding that

Love is many things, and is also used as a reference to sight and vision such as blindness. It is much more than aesthetics and wields the power of sight, and can also cause chaos and destruction. Similarly, Shakespeare utilizes two types of blindness by love; the first being physical due to a love potion a fairy king, Oberon orders upon the humans in Shakespeare’s, A Midsummers Night’s Dream. The second, being metaphorical due to Antony’s immense amount of love towards Cleopatra, in which hinders his political motivation in Shakespeare’s, Antony and Cleopatra.

The Apple of My Queer Eye: A Look into Shakespeare’s Homoerotic Desires in the 16th Century It is clear to see that Henry Wriothesley has the most sex appeal from what Shakespeare writes in Sonnet 135. Shakespeare’s homoerotic desires in the 16th century were thought of as unconventional and foreign, which is why Shakespeare uses coded language to portray this through his writing.

David Bevington in William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies describes how “love” is attacked from the outset of Othello:

First, we see Antonio, a soft-hearted and morose Christian gentleman whose riches cannot provide him the fulfillment that others deem appropriate. He is sad because he lacks love. To fulfill that love, he assists Bassano in his own quest to pursue love. Though usually depicted as a homosexual relationship, it is a portrayal of love between friends or brothers, another type of bond. This act of bonding puts Antonio in gracious light. He helps his loved one by borrowing money from Shylock and pawns his life to strengthen that bond. This reinforced bondage reflects Antonio’s selflessness, God-like quality, and most importantly Christian morality.

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. There are many examples of love in the story. One way that love is shown is between Antigone and Polyneices. Antigone was a loving sister to her brother , Polyneices , she showed this in many ways. Her brother was killed and the King of Thebes , Creon , demanded that he shall not be buried or even mounted.

There's no denying the intimacy of the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian, particularly when Antonio proclaims his devotion and willingness to risk his life to be with his beloved friend. Antonio says that he is driven by "desire," "jealousy," and "love" to follow Sebastian to Illyria, where Antonio is a wanted man. Just as Duke Orsino compares the experience of erotic love to a physically piercing "shaft", Antonio suggests that his desire for Sebastian is "more sharp than filed steel”. “ I could not stay behind you: my desire, More sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth; And not all love to see you, though so much As might have drawn one to a longer voyage, But jealousy what might befall your travel, Being skilless in these parts; which to a stranger, Unguided and unfriended, often prove Rough and unhospitable: my willing love, The rather by these arguments of fear, Set forth in your pursuit.” (3.3) This language not only gets at the sense that Antonio's love causes him physical suffering and heartache, but it also consistent with the imagery of sexual

Wonder, for a moment, what Shakespeare means when he uses the word “love”, if it really does exist in any of the relationships in this play, particularly between Petruccio and Katherine. Is love not a certainty?

Firstly, it is difficult to identify the obsessive nature of the love felt by Othello, at the beginning of William Shakespeare’s Othello, as his love towards Desdemona could be interpreted as ‘agape’ or certainly be seen as unconditional since the couplet persistently demonstrate a meaningful, more philosophical love towards one another. When used by Christians as a way to express their unconditional love of God, the term ‘agape love’ highlights the idea that love involves an element of self-sacrifice. Unlike our stereotypical understanding of the English word ‘love’, in the New Testament, ‘agape love’ is not used to refer to love romantically or sexually, instead it describes holding one in high regard, unequivocally. Arguably, this could explain why Othello remains in awe of

During the 16th century, the definition of love was “senses relating to affection or attachment”. The word “love” appears 50 times throughout The Jew of Malta. Abigail uses the word “love” literally when expressing her passion and feelings for Don Mathias before her death. In the beginning of the play, the governor, Ferneze, ceased Barabas’s fortune to help pay the tax to the Ottoman Empire that Malta has accumulated over the years. As revenge, Barabas plots to kill Lodowick by using Abigail as his pawn. Although Abigail is submitted to Barabas’s plan, she expresses genuine affection for Mathias by stating, “O father, Don Mathias is my love!”. However, Barabas utilizes the word love in a more metaphoric, shallow way. Before discovering his

Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night arguably poses questions about sexuality and the social constraints of gender. In his 1996 film adaptation of the play Trevor Nunn takes these queries and highlights them for his audience. Nunn’s opening, pictures Viola and Sebastian both dressed in harem costumes as entertainment for the others on board the ship. Panning around the room we see Antonio watching the twins intensely. Antonio shows very little emotion in this scene, nor any recognition of which twin is which.

One of the biggest debates when it comes to Shakespeare is if homosexuality is present in his works or not. This debate only began in recent decades when the term “homosexuality” was not seen as completely taboo. Many scholars debate that the “platonic” relationships between men were really participating in homosexual relationships, which were covered in many layers of English Renaissance language. These scholars also argue that women during this time were used for two reasons: 1) to cover up said homosexual relationships and 2) reproduction. Women were used for men’s personal gain. Women were considered manipulative and destructive. On the other hand, some scholars argue that these men were not in homosexual relationships with one another and really considered each other a brother. But really, it all boils down to which play/sonnet. In some cases, there are homosexual relationships shown and in others it is merely a platonic relationship. It all depends on the story that is being portrayed.

Antonio and Sebastian are very intimate with one another and have become very loyal to each other. This is shown quite evidently throughout the play many times. An example of this is when Antonio wants to go with Sebastian to Illyria to make sure he is safe, he tells Sebastian, “But, come what may, I do adore thee so that danger shall seem sport, and I will go” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 40-41). Deep down inside, Antonio feels a shrill desire to follow and help his friend on his travels. Although

However, if we explore the play more closely, we see that there are some valid external reasons that may be adding to Antonio's imbalance of humors.  One of these is that he is suffering from the existential dilemma to a degree.  In a world of appearances, he realizes how difficult it is to find real meaning and the truth.  As he warns Bassanio regarding Shylock, "Mark you this, Bassanio,/Th devil can cite scripture for his purpose./An evil soul producing holy witness/Is like a villain with a smiling cheek-/A goodly apple rotten at the heart:/O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!" (Shakespeare  206).

In the 21st century, homosexuality has been more acknowledged and accepted, than during the Elizabethan Era. During the Elizabethan Era, homosexual people existed, but it was not too common for someone to openly express their love for someone of the same sex. In Sonnet XX, Shakespeare describes through personal experience that love does not take gender into account. In his Twelfth Night play, Shakespeare portrays through a character, Orsino, that love has no boundaries. In The Merchant of Venice, also by Shakespeare, two of the main male characters are in love with each other. Shakespeare believes love does base itself on gender.