Gender in Shakespeare's Sonnets Much has been made (by those who choose to note) of the fact that in Shakespeare's sonnets, the beloved is a young man. It is remarkable, from a historical perspective, and raises intriguing, if unanswered, questions about the nature of Shakespeare's relationship with the young man who inspired these sonnets. Considering 16th century England's censorious attitude towards homosexuality, it might seem surprising that Will's lover is male. However, in terms of the poetry conventions of idealized, courtly love, it makes surprisingly little difference whether Will's beloved is male or female; to put it more bluntly, in a way it makes more sense for the beloved to be male. Will's beloved is "fairer and more temperate (18.2)" than a summer's day; "the tenth Muse (38.9);" “‘Just,’ ‘kind,’ and ‘true’ (105.9);” the sun that shines "with all its triumphant splendor (33.10)". We've heard all this before. This idealization of the beloved is perhaps the most common and traditional feature of love poetry. Taken to its logical conclusion, however, idealized love has some surprising implications. Idealizing the beloved means claiming for him (or, in a certain sense, endowing him with) certain characteristics. The Ideal is the One: perfect, self-sufficient, unified, complete. The Ideal needs nothing. The ideal is the consistent, static, homogeneous Sun; the changeable and inconsistent Moon is not. Inasmuch as the Ideal is the One, it is also the True. The image coincides with reality; appearances are not deceiving. There is, for Will, a battle between his eyes and his heart - "My eyes and my heart are in mortal war / How to divide the conquest of your sight: (46.1-2)" - but they are not disagree about value: "...my eye is due to your outward part, / and my heart is due to your inward heart love (13-14)." Inside and outside are in harmony; the beautiful is the good. This could create a problem, as your loved one will eventually grow old and ugly, then die and become food for worms. There is certainly a concern with the ravages of the "scythe of time" in the sonnets. And Will doesn't say, "I'll love you when you're old and ugly." The body will wither and die. But the Ideal can be saved, if you print more images. Will urges his beloved to reproduce, “raise another you". (6.