1 literature : to expurgate (something, such as a book) by omitting or modifying parts considered vulgarbowdlerize the text2 : to modify by abridging, simplifying, or distorting in style or content
Few editors have achieved the notoriety of Thomas Bowdler. Bowdler was trained as a physician, but when illness prevented him from practicing medicine, he turned to warning Europeans about unsanitary conditions at French watering places. He then carried his quest for purification to literature, and in 1818 he published his Family Shakspeare [sic], a work in which he promised that "those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family." The sanitized volume was popular with the public of the day, but literary critics denounced his modifications of the words of the Bard. Bowdler applied his literary eraser broadly, and within 11 years of his death in 1825, the word bowdlerize was being used to refer to expurgating books or other texts.
From Oxford Dictionaries:
Bowdlerize (or bowdlerise) means ‘remove material that is considered improper or offensive from (a text or account), especially with the result that the text becomes weaker or less effective’
Bowdlerize owes its existence to Thomas Bowdler. This came about because of Thomas Bowdler’s The Family Shakspeare (retitled The Family Shakespeare in subsequent editions, following the differing trends for spelling the playwright’s name). This was published in 1818, in 10 volumes; an advertisement quoting the preface declared Bowdler’s intention:
‘My great objects in this undertaking are to remove from the writings of Shakspeare, some defects which diminish their value; and, at the same time, to present to the public an edition of his Plays, which the parent, the guardian, and the instructor of youth, may place without fear in the hands of the pupil; and from which the pupil may derive instruction as well as pleasure; may improve his moral principles, while he refines his taste; and without incurring the danger of being hurt with any indelicacy of expression, may learn in the fate of Macbeth, that even a kingdom is dearly purchased, if virtue be the price of acquisition.’
About 10% of the original text was excised in the first edition. Some of the amendments addressed language use. For instance, to avoid blasphemy, exclamations of ‘God!’ and ‘Jesu!’ were replaced with ‘Heavens!’ or omitted altogether. Some of the changes were more drastic: the prostitute character in Henry IV, Part 2 is omitted, while Ophelia’s suicide in Hamlet becomes accidental drowning.
In the 1818 edition (which included all 36 plays), Bowdler restored some of the passages which had been cut in the 1807 edition, but also expurgated others that had previously been intact. Measure for Measure and Othello he considered beyond the pale, and printed them with a warning that they were ‘unfortunately little suited to family reading’.
By the end of the century, there were fifty other expurgated editions of Shakespeare available from other editors. In some ways, Bowdler was quite unusual in his commitment not to add to Shakespeare’s text. Throughout the previous century, many had seen Shakespeare’s strength in plots rather than language, and heavily adapted, augmented, and amalgamated his works. Examples include Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending, Beatrice and Benedick transferred from Much Ado About Nothing into Measure for Measure, and a version of The Tempest where the noted speech ‘Full fathom five thy father lies’ opens with ‘Thy Daddy’s dead, thy Daddy’s dead’.
Shakespeare wasn’t the only author to receive Bowdler’s treatment; he also prepared a bowdlerized version of the works of the historian Edward Gibbon, though this wasn’t published until after Bowdler’s death.
From TVtropes.org:
To Bowdlerize means to alter existing programs, plays, etc. so they are less rude and/or offensive. Commonly, this takes the form of swapping "curse" words for euphemisms. True Bowdlerizing starts when you actually lower the quality of the art or story in some way in the editing.
Named after Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), who first did it on The Bible and William Shakespeare's plays; for instance, changing Ophelia's drowning from suicide to accident. It's worth noting that Bowdler himself created his "Family Shakespeare" versions as a way to introduce Shakespeare's plays to audiences who would otherwise be barred from experiencing them at all, and actively encouraged people to seek out the originals. Before him, the French Duke of Montausier published "ad usum Delphini" versions of works for the Dauphin (heir apparent) of France. "Ad usum Delphini" is now a synonym of this trope.
ed. note: entries on this blog are routinely expurgated to remove any material the reader might consider boring or repetitive
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