Did you know that William Shakespeare was constantly restraining f-bombs all through his plays? Did you realize that the Elizabethans were as nearly sex-obsessed as modern Western society appears to be? Did you know that nearly everything is an innuendo, sexual slang, or sex pun?

You will after you read this little book.

This was a fun read, if a bit on the shallow side. The points the author makes and the examples she uses were all interesting, but none of them were explored as far as I would have liked. Many of the plays were not touched on at all (What of Beatrice and Benadick's marvelous banter? If ever language was loaded with sex, it had to be theirs, yet the go unmentioned in the entire book).

I'm actually curious to know if there is another book by this author out there somewhere that does more than just pick the jokes with the most potential chance to attract mainstream attention. Although it has a scholarly basis, it is not really a scholarly work and won't replace one. Still, it was fun and fast to read. ( )

Shakespeare may be most noted for his poems and sonnets of adoration, but the Bard also had a rather perverted frame of mind. I found it very interesting that while reading this book, the innuendos began to make perfect sense. ( )

Enlightening and entertaining. Each excerpt is set in context. Then it is given in the original language, and then in the "unmasked" language that states what the author sets forth as the "real meaning" of the passage - with footnotes.

I found it funny and plausible...but I had to read it in short sessions. So much filth and obscenity was too mind-numbing for prolonged reading. ( )