Is there any evidence for a gay relationship in The Merchant of Venice?

Question

A couple of years ago, I went to a stage performance of Shakespeare's *The Merchant of Venice*, in which Antonio and Bassanio were portrayed as being in a gay relationship together since before the start of the play. This correspondingly affected the romance between Bassanio and Portia, which was portrayed as being somewhat forced.At first I didn't feel this was true to the original spirit of the play - I'd always imagined Bassanio as being merely close friends with Antonio and being in love with Portia - but I do remember some lines in the play which (assuming they weren't changed for this performance, which I think is very unlikely) seemed to fit surprisingly well with this interpretation.**Is there any textual evidence that Bassanio and Antonio were or weren't in a relationship?**

Answer 1

It's hard to say for certain exactly what Shakespeare intended, for a variety of reasons. First, and most importantly, is the fallacy of authorial intent: it's impossible to know for sure exactly what the author intended in a text unless they explicitly express it. Second, the idea of "homosexuality" and what it referred to has varied greatly over the years -- in the time of Shakespeare, according to some scholars, they used "love" for what we would refer to as "really close friendship."

The thing is, Shakespeare isn't a book; it's a script: it's living and breathing, not merely words on a page. We tend to forget it sometimes, but it's not meant to be read, it's meant to be performed by live people in a live space. Which means it's up to a particular production to interpret the text how they wish. Does the love expressed between the two underpin a homosexual relationship taboo in society at the time? Or is it emblematic of a society where men were comfortable expressing their emotions to each other, and thus behaved in a manner that comes across to modern viewers as "stereotypically gay?" Or is it something in between? These are the choices an actor and a director must make when they're putting on this show.

I know you were looking for a bit of a straight answer, but in theatre, nothing is straightforward.