Klarinet Archive - Posting 001385.txt from 1998/07

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: klarinet Digest 30 Jul 1998 08:15:02 -0000 Issue
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 23:33:26 -0400

At 06:39 PM 7/30/98 -0400, Arnold Teres wrote:
>Bill Hausman wrote:
>
><And in exactly WHICH Shakespeare work does the word F*** appear? There is
>a subtle difference between bawdy and lewd which has been lost lately.>
>
>Well you got me - sort of - In McBeth the Porter scene (I think it's at the
>begining of act 2) has a character suggesting that he would rather be
>knocking the women than listening to someone else knocking on the door.
>Granted, this is not the F*** word but the intent is clear. You are correct
>in your comment regarding the difference between bawdy and lewd but I'll
>stand by my statement that the other authors I mentioned WERE lewd. My point
>is that lewd is commonplace and not anything new.
>
But the fact that lewdness is commonplace does not make it good, only
...common. I'd like my literature and music to aspire to loftier levels
than the gutter, at least most of the time. Shakespeare was writing for a
very broad audience, and was wise enough to include something for everyone,
even the groundlings. But I think people have the right to avoid lewdness
if they wish. If they see that a movie is rated "R," they can make an
informed choice not to attend, just as they can choose not to read
Shakespeare or Chaucer or "Catcher in the Rye." Lewdness and coarse
language have their time and place, of course, but blaring the stuff over a
mega-watt car stereo where it can be heard by young children and anyone
else within blocks of the thing is just plain inappropriate. It you just
HAVE to listen to it, get some headphones.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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