William Shakespeare (baptised 26. April 1564 and died 23. April 1616) is a very famous English playwright, lyricist and actor. His comedies and tragedies are among the most important stage plays in world literature and among the most frequently performed works. There are also many retellings, as with many other classic works, that include queer characters and themes. For example, „The Last True Poets of the Sea“ by Julia Drake, which is a YA sapphic romance retelling of Twelfth Night with a bisexual main character, or „That Way Madness Lies“ by Dahlia Adler, which is an entire anthology of Shakespeare’s retellings, many of whom are queer. Reading such books today, one can ask how much they are based on the originals and whether there are already references to queer characters or relationships in those as well. One can therefore ask to what extent Shakespeare is queerbaiting or queer-coding in his works. To do this, the two terms „queerbaiting“ and „queer-coding“ must first be clarified.
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