Even though he began writing plays and poems over 400 years ago, William Shakespeare remains one of the greatest literary figures in history.
He is widely considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and the foremost dramatist in the world.
Would it surprise you to learn that several of the Bard’s works have been censored and banned in many countries?
Shakespeare’s writing career spanned from 1585 to 1613. During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, plays had to be reviewed by official censors before they were permitted to be performed. Censors removed what they considered to be blasphemous or insulting content that might offend a member/members of the monarchy or prominent individuals.
According to Shakespeare biographer Dennis Kay, “He had to learn to walk a political tightrope. For the most part, he walked it with little trouble.”
Before the Earl of Essex led an uprising against Queen Elizabeth I, he paid Shakespeare’s company to do a special performance of Richard II. Queen Elizabeth I recognized the significance of the scene in the play where the king is deposed as murdered. Her censors ordered the removal of that scene from all future performances. The original play could not be performed until 1608.
When the Puritans came to power after deposing and executing Charles I in 1642, the Parliament banned the performances of plays in England. This ban included all of Shakespeare’s plays and those of other playwrights. The Puritans believed the enjoyment audiences experienced while watching plays was sinful and took time away from spiritual devotion and service to God.
Following the Restoration of 1660, only two theaters were allowed to reopen. Sir Robert Davenport was tasked with the job of reforming and censoring any plays performed at his theater. Sanitized versions of Shakespeare’s plays were the only versions allowed to be performed in England.
The Puritans who travelled to the British colonies carried Cromwell’s disapproval of frivolity with them. Performances of plays were discouraged and finally banned colony-wide in 1750 by the Massachusetts legislature.
Shakespeare’s King Lear was banned in England in 1810 because it showed a king grappling with bouts of insanity. During that time, the reigning monarch, King George III was battling a mental illness. After his death in 1820, the ban was lifted.
Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825) was an English physician who created “family-friendly” versions of Shakespeare’s plays by removing offensive language and crude humor. His sister Henrietta was responsible for most of the editing. Theater companies were never forced to perform Bowdler’s sanitized versions, but his written versions of the plays appealed to many readers offended by coarse words and crude behavior.
In the 1930s and the 1980s several school in the United States removed plays such as The Merchant of Venice from their curricula because of antisemitic themes and references to money lending. Others were challenged because of sexual content, violence, and depictions of suicide.
In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin’s well-known dislike for Hamlet didn’t cause the play to be officially banned, but it was not performed during his time in power (from 1924 to his death in 1953). Hamlet was also banned in Ethiopia in 1978. It is also a target of several conservative school boards in the United States because of alleged sexual and violent contact, obscene language, and references to the occult.
In 1966, the Chinese government banned most Western works, including the works of William Shakespeare, during the Cultural Revolution. The themes of his plays were deemed incompatible with China’s policy of all-embracing communism. The ban lasted until 1977. Today Shakespeare’s works are popular throughout China.
In 1996, a New Hampshire school board banned Twelfth Night because members believed a woman disguised as a man was encouraging homosexuality.
Romeo and Juliet is often targeted by parents and conservative groups because of its depictions of teen romance and romanticizing teen suicide.
In 2018, the Iranian government briefly detained actors from a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream because a video clip on the internet showed men and women dancing together which is illegal under the current Islamic laws in Iran.
Among the more than 12,000 books currently banned from Texas prison libraries by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, several of Shakespeare’s works are included. Although the Texas prison system does allow prisoners to appeal the banning of a book, more than 85% of those appeals are denied.
How do you feel about these interpretations of Shakespeare’s works? Should people be allowed to censor or ban the incomparable works of a literary genius because some of its content makes them uncomfortable or offends their perceptions of political correctness or moral virtue? Shouldn’t we encourage everyone to approach literature with an open mind instead of cherry-picking every line? Let me know your thoughts on This Awful Awesome Life’s Facebook page, This Awful/Awesome Life.
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