Shakespeare and Lesbianism

While we’re on the subject of April observances, I’ll note that today is the traditional (though perhaps incorrect) celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday.

In honor of the Bard, therefore, yet in keeping with the theme of this site, I give you two quotes. The first is from his gender-mix-up comedy Twelfth Night. Viola, disguised as a man, comments upon the Countess Olivia:

She made good view of me; indeed, so much
That methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure . . . .

Next, from his little-known Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music:

Were kisses all the joys in bed,
One woman would another wed.

(Don’t respond to that one too explicitly in the comments, please.)

Since some of my best friends are Actual Shakespeare Scholars, I hasten to add that all this proves is that Shakespeare is quotable enough to be used for any purpose, however anachronistic or out of context. Shakespeare himself played fast and loose with history, though, so I don’t feel too much remorse.

Think I’ll catch a repeat of this week’s The Tudors later so I can wallow in the drama of history and the history of drama all day.