A Dictionary of Shakespeare’s Sexual Puns and Their Significance - Softcover

Rubinstein, Frankie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0333488660 ISBN 13: 9780333488669

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1989

Synopsis

'...Rubinstein is far from innocent and comes to our aid with a lot of learning...and is quite right to urge that not to appreciate the sexiness of Shakespeare's language impoverishes our own understanding of him. For one thing, it was a strong element in his appeal to Elizabethans, who were much less woolly-mouthed and smooth-tongued than we are. For another, it has constituted a salty preservative for his work, among those who can appreciate it...an enlightening book.' A.L.Rowse, The Standard

About this title

Synopsis:

The purpose of this dictionary is to identify the hundreds of still unnoted puns, to indicate their enrichment of Shakespeare's plays, to reawaken the reader to the value of reading and hearing Shakespeare word by word, giving full weight to each one and asking why the line was thus written. The new words in the supplement deal more exclusively with the Sonnets and include more references to similar puns that were made by Shakespeare's contemporaries, as well as by the classical writers with whose works he was familiar. The puns are discussed in their contexts to stress the point that they are intrinsic, not accessory to Shakespeare's thought processes and (un)consciously influence the choice of subsequent words.

From the Back Cover:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0333488660
• ISBN 13: 9780333488669
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 395