A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Sexual Puns and Their Significance

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Product Description

This dictionary examines previously unnoted puns on the erotic attitudes and practices of the heterosexual and homosexual, the sexual deviant, and the impotent. It includes scatological puns in their usually bawdy contexts and ethnic puns, as sexually snide then as now. It stresses the need to read and hear Shakespeare word by word, giving full weight to each one and asking why the line is so and not otherwise. It heightens our awareness of Shakespeare's words, their Elizabethan connotations and their contemporary validity. For today's non-specialist audiences, the sexual puns are invitations to the fun of Shakespeare.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 2 edition (December 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312126778
• ISBN-13: 978-0312126773
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,332,225 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Just the right amount of smut, November 19, 2009

By	Bryan Dodson "Theopholis Rex" (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an amazing book. I was casually perusing the Shakespeare section in the library, when I found this. It goes over almost too many puns and innuendos, describing eloquently and in great detail every word used as a double entendre. It gives historical context, examples of other sources the word was used in a naughty fashion, and times and ways it was used in various plays.
But it does not emphasize dirt for dirt's sake. The entire dictionary is geared toward understanding Shakespeare on a deeper level of symbolism (at times as a contrast to the heavier themes) and invokes a sense of wonder at how truly Shakespeare understood every aspect of human emotion.