lost communication (face of shame)

[Charles Doyle]

Ron, I'm sorry I missed your joke; that's embarrassing. (But, hey, it WAS a really bad joke!)

Also embarrassing was my walking into my Shakespeare class last week, having just been reminded (by a posting on this list) of Dr. Bowdler and the notorious trumpet-playing in Othello's bed.  I shared the information with the class, and the students were appropriately amused.  Only later did it occur to me that the Bowdlerized line appears in _Cymbeline_, not _Othello_ (though I believe the misascription is fairly common in recountings of Bowdler-lore). Now: Do I confess the error to my class or keep quiet, secure in the knowledge that my students never remember anything I say anyhow?

--Charlie




---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 22:18:07 EDT
>From: RonButters at aol.com
>Subject: lost communication (face of shame)
>To: cdoyle at UGA.EDU, ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>   In a message dated 10/20/06 9:34:49 AM,
>   cdoyle at UGA.EDU writes:
>
>     It's "Th' expense of spirit in a WASTE of shame,"
>     Ron!  Some scholars have suggested an anatomical
>     pun on "waist"--but none (as far as I know) have
>     amended the word to "face."
>
>     --Charlie
>
>   I know what the sonnet says, and the pun is
>   something that I've pointed out to students for 35
>   years or more. In the original message (apparently
>   lost) I said I was "paraphrasing" Shakespeare. (I'm
>   not sure that my lame joke is worth all this
>   attention!)

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