Speculation about Shakespeare
sonnets as evidence of his love for a young man. Others read the same passages as the
expression of intense friendship rather than sexual love.[181] At the same time, the 26 so-
called "Dark Lady" sonnets, addressed to a married woman, are taken as evidence of
heterosexual liaisons.[182]
Portraiture
Main article: Portraits of Shakespeare
There is no written description of Shakespeare's physical appearance and no evidence that he
ever commissioned a portrait, so the Droeshout engraving, which Ben Jonson approved of as
a good likeness,[183] and his Stratford monument provide the best evidence of his
appearance. From the 18th century, the desire for authentic Shakespeare portraits fuelled
claims that various surviving pictures depicted Shakespeare. That demand also led to the
production of several fake portraits, as well as misattributions, repaintings and relabelling of
portraits of other people.
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