Posted on 12/22/2009 5:56:33 PM PST by Steelfish
He would have lots of material to work with. Lots to laugh at.
Of the 154 sonnets, the first 126 are addressed to a man. But don't take my word for it. Buy a good annotated version. This will help you to understand the obsolete words and the modern words that had a different meaning in Shakespeare's day, as well as sort out the grammar. (I recommend the edition by the Folger Shakespeare Library. This edition includes some of his other poems as well.)
And another piece of advice: don't rush the reading. You need at least a year to read those sonnets, and two years is better. You need to spend some time with the rhythm and the rhyming and the language. But the time spent is well worth it. Not only will you begin to appreciate Shakespeare's poetic diction, but your experience with the poems will make you a better reader of the plays.
My point is that the argument that Shakespeare was Roman Catholic is specious.
Well, then. No skin off my nose.
Whether Catholic or not he has gone to meet his maker and what team he batted for is moot.
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