This document is a study of Shakespeare's use of sexual imagery and bawdy language in his plays. It examines puns and double entendres related to sex, marriage, cuckoldry, and gender roles. Specific examples are given from plays like Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Taming of the Shrew. The document also discusses theories about humor, superiority, masculinity and femininity as portrayed in Shakespeare's works. A bibliography lists numerous scholarly sources analyzing sexuality in the Bard's writings.

1. Bawdy Language in the Bard’s
Body: A Study of Shakespeare’s
Sexual Imagery
By: Matthew Hall

2. Nobles and gentlemen
Citizens and politicians
Landholders
Laborers

3. Bearbaiting

4. Will Shakespeare
Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
And Will to boot, and Will in overplus.
…………………………………………………….
Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
Shall will in others seem right gracious,
And in my will no fair acceptance shine?

5. “Get thee to a nunnery!”

6. “Put money in thy purse”

7. Puns in Names/Professions
Snug the Joiner
Flute and Snout
Peter Quince
Bottom the weaver?

8. Nothing and No Thing
Much Ado About Nothing
“He gets nothing by that.”
-Beatrice, referring to Benedick-

9. Cuckoldry
SPRING. …cuckoo then on every tree / Mocks
married men, for thus sings he: Cuckoo!

10. Cuckoldry cont.
CURTIS. …three-inch fool.”
GRUMIO. Am I but three inches? Why, thy
horn is a foot, and / so long am I, at the least.

11. Superiority Theory

12. Superiority Theory cont.

13. Masculinity

14. Femininity

15. Male/Female Interactions
KATHERINE. What is your
crest --- a coxcomb?
PETRUCCIO. A combless
cock, so Kate will be my
hen.

16. Male/Female Interactions cont.
ANNE. And thou unfit for
any place but hell.
RICHARD. Yes, one place
else, if you will hear me
name it.
ANNE. Some dungeon.
RICHARD. Your
bedchamber.

17. Works Cited
Bly, Mary. "Bawdy Puns And Lustful Virgins: The Legacy of Juliet's Desire in the Comedies of the Early 1600S."Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey
Of Shakespeare Studies And Production 49 (1996): 97-109. Print.
Berry, Philippa. Shakespeare's Feminine Endings: Disfiguring Death in the Tragedies. London: Routledge, 1999. Print.
Bradbrook, M. C. The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy. London: Peregrine, 1963. Print.
Bray, Alan. "Homosexuality and the Signs of Male Friendship in Elizabethan England."Queering the Renaissance. Ed. Jonathan Goldberg. Durham:
Duke UP, 1994. 40-61. Print.
Colman, E. A. M. The Dramatic Use of Bawdy in Shakespeare. London: Longman, 1974. Print
Edelman, Charles. Brawl Ridiculous: Swordfighting in Shakespeare's Plays. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1992. Print.
Ghanooni, Ali Reza. "Sexual Pun: A Case Study of Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet." Cross-Cultural Communication 8.2 (2012): 91-100. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
Greenblatt, Stephen, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katharine Eisaman Maus, eds. The Norton Shakespeare. Second ed. New York: W.W.
Norton, 2008. Print.
Gurr, Andrew. Playgoing in Shakespeare's London. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1987. Print.
Harbage, Alfred. Shakespeare's Audience. New York: Columbia UP, 1941. Print.
Mahood, M. M. Shakespeare's Wordplay. London: Methuen, 1957. Print.
Morreall, John. The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987. Print.
Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare's Stage. New Haven: Yale UP, 1958. Print.
Newman, Karen. "Portia's Ring: Unruly Women and Structures of Exchange in The Merchant of Venice." Shakespeare Quarterly 38.1 (1987): 19-33.
Print.
Nilsen, Don L. F. Humor in British Literature, from the Middle Ages to the Restoration: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997. Print.
Onions, C. T., and Robert D. Eagleson. A Shakespeare Glossary. Oxford UP, 1986. Print.
"Othello." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.
Papp, Joseph, and Elizabeth Kirkland. Shakespeare Alive! Toronto: Bantam, 1988. Print.
Partridge, Eric. Shakespeare's Bawdy. London: Routledge, 1968. Print.
Paster, Gail Kern, and Skiles Howard. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. Print.
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 1625-1681
----. Hamlet. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 1696-1784.
----. Love’s Labour’s Lost. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 777-836.
----. Macbeth. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 2579-2632.
----. Measure for Measure. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus. 2048-2108.
----. Merchant of Venice. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 1121-1175.
----. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 849-895.
----. Much Ado About Nothing. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 1416-1470.
----. Othello. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 2119-2191.
----. Richard III. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 547-628.
----. Romeo and Juliet. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 905-972.
----. The Taming of the Shrew. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 169-228
----. Twelfth Night. Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus 1793-1846.

18. Pictures Sourced
Bearbaiting. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., Feb. 2008. Web. 30 June 2013.
De Wit, Fredericus. Nova Et Accurata Totius Europæ Descriptio. Digital image.Wikipedia. N.p., 5 June 2013. Web. 30 June 2013.
Hamlet. Dir. Laurence Olivier. Perf. Laurence Olivier. 1948. Image.
http://ringreview.net/diamond-ring/sell-my-diamond-ring
Olsen, Harald. Reed Warbler feeding a Common Cuckoo chick in a nest. Brood parasitism. Digital image. Wikimedia. N.p., 3 Apr. 2007. Web. 1 July
2013.
Praefcke, Andreas. Shakespeare's Globe Audience 2011. Digital image. Wikimedia, 9 Dec. 2011. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Beatrice and Benedick (Act II, scene iii). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Bottom (Act I, scene ii). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Gregory, Sampson and Abraham (Act 1, scene 1). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Malvolio (Act 2, scene 5). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Petruchio and Katharina (Act 2, scene 1). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Richard and Anne (Act 1, scene 2). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Roderigo (Act 1, Scene 1). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.
Selous, H. C. Titania and Bottom(Act III, Scene i). Digital image. Internet Shakespeare. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.

19. Acknowledgements
• Mary Bennet and Joy Estepp at McNair
• Justin Hoffman and Adam Heidrick
• Dr. Hileman

20. Questions?