Thread: Naughty words
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Old 06-29-2014, 04:13 PM   #19
Araucaria
Bibliophile
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Cantal in the French Auvergne
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In some dusty corner I've got a copy of Bowdler's Family Shakespeare ("in which nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family").

In the preface he explains how he used to read Shakespeare out loud to his family and servants, and became adept at missing out the naughty words as he read the plays - "God!" for example, simply became "Heavens!"

He wrings his hands over Othello - the whole play (adultery!) is unsuitable for family reading, but he manfully corrects the naughty words, then relegates it to an appendix (or perhaps just the back of the book) where it can safely remain unread. Quite what he did with Titus Andronicus I don't recall - I'll have to dig it out and see.
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