The Portrait of Mr. W. H.

The Portrait of Mr. W. H. is a story written by Oscar Wilde and first published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1889. An enlarged version of the story was first published in 1921.

It is about an attempt to uncover the identity of Mr W.H., the enigmatic dedicatee of Shakespeare's Sonnets. It is based on a theory, originated by Thomas Tyrwhitt, that the Sonnets were addressed to one Willie Hughes, portrayed in the story as a boy actor who specialized in playing women in Shakespeare's company. The only evidence for this theory is a number of sonnets (such as Sonnet 20) that make puns on the words 'Will' and 'Hues.'

In Wilde's story, Cyril Graham is convinced that the Hughes theory is correct, and tries to persuade his friend Erskine, but is frustrated by the lack of historical evidence for his existence. Graham sets about finding such evidence, but fails; he therefore fakes a portrait of Hughes with his hand on a book on which can be seen the dedication from the Shakespeares Sonnets. Erskine is convinced by this, but then discovers it to be a fake, and abandons his belief. Graham, however, still believes in the theory, and to prove it, shoots himself.

Erskine later recounts the story to another friend, who is so struck by the Willie Hughes theory that he begins his own research and further fleshes out Graham's findings until he is without a doubt that it was true. He presents it to Erskine, but then finds himself strangely divested from it and loses faith in its basis in reality.

Erskine's belief, however, is renewed and he sets off at once to try to find a trace of Willie Hughes. But like Graham, he finds nothing. His friend maintains that there was nothing to be found - that Hughes never existed. Erskine sent him a letter, in which he tells him that the truth is in front of him and, as a sign of complete faith in it, is now twice stained with blood. His friend goes to his hotel in Paris and finds Erskine dead.

He assumes Erskine committed suicide, but the doctor tells him the real cause was a lingering illness that Erskine had known about for some months, and that he had come to Paris specifically to die. He left his friend the portrait of Mr. W. H. The portrait now hangs in his home, where many comment on it but he does not tell of its history. He sometimes wonders to himself, however, if it might be true after all.

External links

• The Portrait of Mr. W. H. at Online-Literature