Sonnet 76

A total of 156 numbered sonnets exist from Shakespeare’s work, in addition to six others that were featured within Shakespeare’s plays. However, it is believed he wrote others that did not survive the course of history. Of these 156, scholars have grouped them broadly into internal collections, the most prominent of which is the “Fair Youth sequence.” This encompasses Sonnets 1-126. The Fair Youth sequence is believed to be dedicated to a young man, though the man’s identity has been a point of contention among scholars and literary critics. What is known is that Shakespeare dedicated his sonnets to a “W. H.,” which many equate with the “Fair Youth” featured across the poems.

Among the suggested candidates are the Earl of Southampton, Henry Wriothesley; Earl of Pembroke, William Herbert; and stage actor William Hughes. Henry Wriothesley was a court noble and a friend of Shakespeare’s, to whom the poet dedicated his narrative poem “Venus and Adonis” (1593). Portraits exist of Wriothesley that show him to be fair and androgynous, qualities attributed to the subject of the sonnets. However, Wriothesley and Shakespeare were very close in age; the Fair Youth sequence suggests a substantial gap in age between the poet and his subject. As the initials were also reversed, critics examine this theory with skepticism.

William Herbert is one of the more popular theories as to the subject’s identity, as he was many years Shakespeare’s junior and his name didn’t require any shuffling. Herbert was known for his courtly affairs and declined repeated marriage proposals early in life, which may have inspired Shakespeare’s early sonnets encouraging the Fair Youth to settle down and begin a family. William Herbert was also a central character in the docudrama “A Waste of Shame,” which follows Shakespeare’s (played by Rupert Graves) relationships with Herbert (played by Tom Sturridge) and the “Dark Lady” of his later sonnets.

William Hughes is another contender for this historic title; historians have found little to support this theory, though it was popularized by an 1889 story by Oscar Wilde: “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” It follows a man trying to uncover the truth about the Fair Youth, inspired by several sonnets which play on the words “Will” and “Hues.” However, there have been several “William Hughes” in Shakespeare’s time, as the name was fairly common.

The Fair Youth sequence represents a full story arc across the 126 sonnets. The first 17 poems broadly encourage the Fair Youth to marry, procreate, and pass his beauty onto the next generation. Following this section, Sonnets 18-25 turn away from this idea and argue that poetry is the only way to truly preserve beauty forever. Sonnets 26-78 begin to despair the speaker’s affections, moving between frustration and dependency, and lamenting the unstoppable passage of time. Sonnets 79-87 discuss the subject’s infidelity and relationship with another poet, while Sonnets 88-126 explore feelings of lost love. Following this sequence, the sonnets shift into what is known as the “Dark Lady” sequence, in which the speaker finds themself caught between two loves.

Some literary critics also argue that there is no true “Fair Youth” at all; that the poems may be entirely a work of fiction. While it is unlikely they hold no influence from the poet’s own life, there is also a prevailing cultural habit to superimpose artistic works onto the lives of their creators. It is more likely that the truth falls somewhere in between, and that Shakespeare turned to storytelling and creation as a way of processing his experiences.