Did Shakespeare actually address his sonnets to William Holme?

A new research has found the identity of WH, the person whom Shakespeare's poem are dedicated to. The research includes the identity of the mysterious man and explained that he was not, as had been thought to be a contemporary English nobleman, instead he was an associate of the Sonnets' publisher, Thomas Thorpe, the Guardian reported.

Geoffrey Caveney, an American researcher, has revealed the possible evidence to link the initials with William Holme, who had both personal and professional connections to Thorpe.

Caveney added that both Thorpe and Holmes were from prominent Chester families, and were publishing apprentices in 1580s London and had strong connections with theatres through publishing major playwrights such as Ben Jonson and George Chapman.

Caveney explained the reason of why Thorpe referred to Holme as the sonnets' "begetter", by stating that as a colleague and friend of Holme, Thorpe could have found the manuscript of the Sonnets among Holme's belongings after his death, and Thorpe and his printer, registered a flurry of plays just nine days after Holme's burial.

The research will be published in the journal Notes & Queries by Oxford University Press.

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