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W illiam Sh akespeare
- When the Sonnets were published in 1609, possibly without the poet’s permission, the title page announced “the only begetter” of the sonnets as one W.H. Scholars who define “begetter” as “author” (“beget” meaning “to bring about/to bring into existence”) believe the printer simply mistook the H for an S or omitted the S before the H, which would have established the “begetter” clearly as W. SH. (i.e., W illiam Sh akespeare).
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Many scholars have assumed that the word ‘begetter’ means ‘inspirer’, and that the dedication refers to the ‘Fair Youth’ to whom many of the sonnets are addressed (it isn’t as widely known as it should be that ‘ Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ’, perhaps the most famous romantic line in all of English literature, is addressed by the male...
To the only begetter of these insuing sonnets, Mr. W. H., the well-wishing adventurer T. T. (in setting forth) wisheth all happiness, and that eternity promised by our ever-living poet. In other words, what we expect is: “To Mr. W. H., the publisher T. T. wishes all happiness” and so on.
The identity of Mr. W.H., "the only begetter of Shakespeare's Sonnets", is not known for certain. His identity has been the subject of a great amount of speculation: That he was the author's patron, that he was both patron and the "faire youth" who is addressed in the sonnets, that the "faire youth" is based on Mr. W.H. in some sonnets but not ...
At the time of their publication in 1609 (after having been written most likely in the 1590s and shown only to a small circle of literary admirers), they were dedicated to a “Mr. W.H,” who is described as the “onlie begetter” of the poems.
assumption that the sonnets are not only dedicated to him but also addressed to him: the ‘lovely boy’ to whom Shakespeare pours out his heart in a number of the poems may be their ‘begetter’ in the sense of the person who, by his romantic inspiration of the poet, brought them into existence.
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Sonnets: Dedication. This enigmatic dedication, probably added without Shakespeare’s knowledge, has been the source of much speculation and confusion. ’T.T.‘ is the printer Thomas Thorpe ...
Scholars who define “begetter” as “muse” (a person who serves as inspiration for an artist) suggest W.H. refers to the handsome young nobleman who inspired the poems. Shakespeare knew well two such men. Both were generous patrons of poets and playwrights.
