Shakespeare’s Effeminacy

Sky Gilbert is very proud to announce the publication of his new book Shakespeare’s Effeminacy, published by Edward Everett Root Co. Ltd. In Brighton, England, which is now for sale on Amazon.

This book is of particular interest to Oxfordians because it takes for granted that Shakespeare was the Earl of Oxford, who travelled to Italy in 1575.

As in his previous works (Shakespeare Beyond Science and Shakespeare Lied) Dr. Gilbert bases his research on the extensive knowledge of the classics and the classic philosophers, that Oxford — as we all know — so obviously had. While many are working on the valiant cause of proving that the Earl of Oxford was Shakespeare, through historical fact, Dr. Gilbert pursues critical analysis of Shakespeare’s work to achieve the same end.

This radical new work of cultural history is not concerned with the effeminacy of Shakespeare the man, but with the effeminacy of his work.

Professor Sky Gilbert’s contention is that Shakespeare’s plays have been misinterpreted due to prudery, and there is a very real fear of the challenges they present, even today,  to our notions about sex, love, sexuality and gender. Opening this door exposes us to a deeper understanding of his work, and ourselves. Shakespeare’s Effeminacy analyses Shakespeare’s work in the context of early modern Italian culture. Thirteen of his 37 plays are set in Italy, Greece or imagined Mediterranean locations. Importantly, his radical vision of masculinity, and of what the author here calls ‘Shakespeare’s hermaphroditism,’ finds its origins in the Italian culture of Shakespeare’s time.

About the author

Sky Gilbert is a Professor at the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph in Canada. He is an established poet, novelist, dramatist, filmmaker and theatre director. His acclaimed previous books have included Shakespeare Lied (Guernica Editions, 2024), and Shakespeare Beyond Science: When Poetry Was The World (Guernica Editions, 2020), on which Alexander Waugh commented that “Gilbert has a real gift for explaining complicated intellectual ideas with conviction and clarity.”