Basic Assumptions When Interpreting Shakespeare's Sonnets

Basic assumptions generally underlying any interpretation of the Sonnets attributed to Shakespeare might be reconsidered . .

• Play author(s): that the author(s) of the poems is/are the same as for the plays attributed to Shakespeare; author(s) of the poems might be different than for the plays.
• Single authorship: that they were written by a single author; there might have been multiple authors, including collaborators (considered an orthodox possibility with the plays).
• Intended receivers: that the poems were intended to be received by Queen Elizabeth or Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton; anyone (or no one) might have been the target/receiver of the poems.
• Time period: that they were written in the Elizabethan era; they might have been written at any time prior to publication.
• Sexuality/gender: that they represent heterosexual (or homosexual) longings, that gender is always he or she, and that when gender is specifically stated it applies to a person; gender usage might refer to something more general like Love itself.
• Truth/allusion: that they tell the truth of someone's experience; they might be just 'poetic license', meant to be part of a larger artistic creation, fantasies in the artist's mind, or simply allusions.
• Region/language: that they were written in England, by English people, and in English originally; they might have been written outside England, by foreigners, or translated from a foreign language.

A successful interpretation might require reconsidering these basic assumptions.