Thomas Bowdler

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Thomas Bowdler (born July 11, 1754 near Bath , † February 24, 1825 in Wales ) was an English doctor who published an edition of the works of William Shakespeare adjusted for moral censorship criteria . This practice aroused considerable criticism and amusement among contemporaries. Since then, the term to bowdlerize or bowdlerize has found its way into the English language, meaning a prudish form of media censorship.

Life

Bowdler grew up as the son of a wealthy father and studied medicine at Saint Andrews University and in Edinburgh . However, after completing his studies in 1776, he gave up practicing and instead devoted himself to prison reform.

It is believed that he was related to Dr. Bowdler, a strong English chess player of the 1780s, is identical. Bowdler has preserved eight games in particular, which he played against the most famous chess master of the 18th century, François-André Danican Philidor . Philidor played these games under the pawn handicap or blind against two or three opponents at the same time . Bowdler won two of these games, lost three and reached three draws . In a traditional game against Conway in 1788, Bowdler succeeded for the first time in a combination with a double rook sacrifice .

In 1818, after Bowdler retired to the Isle of Wight , he published the edition of Family Shakespeare , which enjoyed considerable sales. He then undertook to publish the works of the historian Edward Gibbon with little success .

Bowdler spent the last years of his life in southern Wales , where he also died. He bequeathed his large library, which was partly composed of holdings from his ancestors, to a Welsh university.

The Shakespeare edition

Bowdler had come to the conviction that a version adjusted under “family-friendly” criteria would make Shakespeare's work accessible to a wider audience. In 1807 a first version was published in four volumes, which contained 24 plays . The editorial work had been done by his sister Henrietta, but she was probably not mentioned for reasons of piety. This was followed in 1818 by the ten-volume edition The Family Shakespeare , which was provided with the note that "those words and expressions are omitted that can not be properly read in a family". Each play was provided with an introduction in which Bowdler summarized and explained the text interventions. Eleven editions had been printed by 1850.

Despite all the criticism that the process evokes from today's perspective, it must be remembered that similar processes had already occurred before Bowdler. Ultimately, the edition served the purpose of removing obstacles to study and opening up the Shakespeare works to a wider readership, especially among young people. The Bowdler edition specifically refrained from adding new text, something previous Shakespeare editors did not shy away from.

See also

literature

personal data
SURNAME Bowdler, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English doctor who published an edition of the works of William Shakespeare adjusted for moral censorship criteria
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1754
PLACE OF BIRTH at Bath
DATE OF DEATH February 24, 1825
Place of death Wales