[LexBaird]

They may not have been addressed to the patron but they were addressed to a man.

So says deconstructionist and queer theory. Simply a case of reading into things what they want to. There is no objective evidence to the theory, and plenty of objective evidence that Shakespeare was a randy hetero horndog.

[wideminded]

So says deconstructionist and queer theory.

one can easily fall into the trap of projecting modern sensibilities back onto historical times,

Actually people were noticing these things about Shakespeare's writing long before "deconstructionist" or "queer theory" came along. I first heard about this question from a book published in the 1920's. The author was defending Shakespeare from the accusation of being gay, but it is clear that the question had come up before this.

There is no objective evidence to the theory,

How about you read the first 126 sonnets and get back to me.