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 enlarge | Author: Pauline Kiernan
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy New: $5.88
You Save: $6.12 (51%)
New (31) Used (11) from $5.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 712972
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1592404014
Dewey Decimal Number: 814
EAN: 9781592404018
ASIN: 1592404014
Publication Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Excellent condition. No marks except possible remainder mark. Soft cover. 010709 Amazon A-to-Z Guarantee purchase protection.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-7 of 7 | | « PREV | | |
 Filthy Shakespeare October 27, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Very very interesting. I knew that Shakespeare had a lot of sexual punning in it but I did not know the depths of it. It makes me laugh to remember my elderly english teacher reading these plays allowed to the class. If only she knew;)
 Very Sad ... October 19, 2007
24 out of 56 found this review helpful
I looked over this book in detail at the bookstore and I wouldn't waste $1 on it. The Author pulls out all stops to find vulgar and profane interpretations in Shakespeare's works, and she does a disservice the way she represents his 'bawdy' language. Many of her examples are outrageous figments of her imagination and even when she is correct 'pointing out' bawdy wordplay she degrades it with the vulgar spin she puts on them (the well-known 'bawdy' Death of Falstaff is quite blown out of proportion). It is clear she and her admirers (swelling reviews) enjoy 'filth' for some sort of vicarious 'naughty' enjoyment; but she is very superficial about any dramtic enhancements or other cliche she'd like to use to rationalize her interpretations. She misses entirely the context of why Shakespeare uses these 'tools' and even the fact they can be fun and harmless specifically because they imply association and are oblique, whereas she clearly enjoys making them (more) graphic than reasonable. She has a Doctorate in Shakespeare Studies - Shakespeare deserves better ... very sad. The book should be titled, Filthy Dr. Kiernan. Sorry to say, if this book is suppose to do some sort of Justice to Bawdy Shakespeare from a current perspective by a 'bonafide' Shakespeare Scholar, I can only say it brings to mind a quote from another anonymous Author who used the imagery of 'scattering pearls before swine.' If you are serious about studying to understand Shakespeare I recommend you take a look inside this book before parting with your hard-earned money ... (limited excerpts are available at Google Books.) (Caveat Emptor.) ALSO - I recommend Eric Partridge's Shakespeare's Bawdy if you are interested in an actual scholarly, reasoned and even-handed look at Shakespeare's ... well, bawdy.
Hope you find this review helpful.
(P.S. I notice my review is generally not found 'Helpful.' It's sorry that my view is incorrectly (superficially) seen as prudish or self-righteous, rather than given the benefit of the doubt that maybe we shouldn't be so quick to elevate everything profane. ... However, it doesn't surprise me in an Age that celebrates vulgarity and profanity as 'Freedom of Speech,' a rather peculiar way to honor the concepts of Freedom and liberty which were actually always promoted hand-in-hand with the notion of personal responsibility. Personally, I find it quite ironically funny that we 'Celebrate' Freedom of Vulgar & Profane Speech while simultaneously condemning any voice of dissent such as mine. OBTW, if anyone actually knows anything about Shakespeare, he was nothing if not an Ironist, which is a decidedly hard nut to crack for a lemming.)
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