Thomas and Harriet Bowdler, The Family Shakspeare (Preface)
Dublin Core
Title
Thomas and Harriet Bowdler, The Family Shakspeare (Preface)
Description
Preface to The Family Shakespeare (pages xvi-xix)
xvi: Bowdler’s preface balances praise for Shakespeare with acknowledgment that much of his content is “so indecent” as to make Bowdler desire to erase it. Bowdler speculates that Shakespeare catered to his time period’s “vicious taste” but views this as no excuse.
xvii: Bowdler notes rare instances of blasphemy and frequent instances of obscenity in Shakespeare. He laments the impact of this content on family reading of Shakespeare.
xviii: Bowdler describes the effort made not to add anything to Shakespeare except for a few words to connect newly proximate passages and synonyms substituted for language the Bowdlers found offensive.
xix: The preface reveals the ways in which the 18th-century editions shaped even amateur readers. Bowdler cites the edition he used, discusses those of its phrases he replaced by original Folio readings, and gestures at by-then well-known textual cruces.
xvi: Bowdler’s preface balances praise for Shakespeare with acknowledgment that much of his content is “so indecent” as to make Bowdler desire to erase it. Bowdler speculates that Shakespeare catered to his time period’s “vicious taste” but views this as no excuse.
xvii: Bowdler notes rare instances of blasphemy and frequent instances of obscenity in Shakespeare. He laments the impact of this content on family reading of Shakespeare.
xviii: Bowdler describes the effort made not to add anything to Shakespeare except for a few words to connect newly proximate passages and synonyms substituted for language the Bowdlers found offensive.
xix: The preface reveals the ways in which the 18th-century editions shaped even amateur readers. Bowdler cites the edition he used, discusses those of its phrases he replaced by original Folio readings, and gestures at by-then well-known textual cruces.
Creator
Thomas and Harriet Bowdler
Publisher
Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Greene
Date
1827
Rights
Public Domain Mark 1.0. Acknowledgment of Lara Bovilsky as a source is requested.
Language
en
Coverage
London, England
Citation
Thomas and Harriet Bowdler, “Thomas and Harriet Bowdler, The Family Shakspeare (Preface),” accessed October 21, 2026, https://timespencil.org/items/show/29.