Cesorship of the Works of William Shakespeare Essay -- Exploratory Ess

Cesorship of the Works of William Shakespeare Why have the works of Shakespeare been censored? William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous and respected author ever to write in the English language. His plays have been read by millions and watched, both on stage and on screen, by billions of people worldwide. Yet, his works have provoked censorship ever since their writing--even before their first performance on stage. Why? The reasons for censorship are nearly as varied as the works themselves; however, unlike Shakespeare's works, the reasons for their censorship have changed significantly over time. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., defines censorship as "the institution, system, or practice of censoring" (185). The same dictionary defines "censor" as "to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable." In this paper, I will generally use the above definition of censorship. The "works of Shakespeare" I will deal with will be the plays of the First Folio, as well as Pericles, and the Sonnets. This is the standard used in most modern Shakespeare compilations. Censorship Pre-1660: Politics and Profanity While modern-day censorship of Shakespeare's works seems shocking, Shakespeare was just another playwright to the Elizabethan government censor. Even though Shakespeare's theater company was "of all companies, in the closest relation to the court through their patrons, and the least likely to run counter to authority, except by inadvertence" (Chambers 1: 237), his plays did not escape censorship, although much more of Shakespeare's work might have never seen the light of day had he been with a lesser company. The best-known case of political censorship is that ... ...Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. New York: Viking, 1993. Fowell, Frank, and Frank Palmer. Censorship in England. 1913. New York: Burt Franklin, 1970. Gustafson, Patrick. "Books That Have Been Challenged." Christian Science Monitor. 18 May 1998. http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/05/19/fp55s2-csm.htm (5 Dec. 1994). Haight, Anne Lyon, and Chandler B. Grannis. Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1978. Ockerbloom, John Mark. "Banned Books On-Line." http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/spok/banned-books.html (19 Mar. 1999). Perrin, Noel. Dr. Bowdler's Legacy: A History of Expurgated Books in England and America. Rev. ed. Boston: Godine, 1992. "The Bonfire of Liberties." http://www.humanities-interactive.org/exhibit1.html (19 Mar. 1999). "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/