Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Will the Real W.H. Please Step Forward? For centuries, readers of Shakespeare’s Sonnets have been scratching their heads over the book’s dedication, written from Thomas Thorpe, the publisher, to a "Mr. W. H." Who the heck is "Mr. W. H."? And is he the same person as the young man who is addressed by the speaker in Sonnets 1-126? Nobody knows, and the mystery endures. (Source.)
Burgess is on the Case. The English novelist Anthony Burgess, best-known as the author of A Clockwork Orange, also wrote a novel about Shakespeare’s love-life, in which he used his imagination to "uncover" the true identity of Shakespeare’s "Dark Lady," who critics think is the unfaithful beloved of Sonnet 137. (Source)
Plagues = Bad. Shakespeare would have been particularly sensitive when mentioning any sort of "plague." In 1593, an outbreak of the plague (the deadlier, non-STD kind) meant that this theaters had to close. (Source.)