As I recall it, Johnson changed the ends
He made Cordelia live, and Juliet
Shaped for their sensibilities, and yet,
We don’t now watch Iago making friends.
The Bowdlers kept the tragic, cut the sex
Left out the country matters, turd and tup,
Too strong for stomachs, though they cut it up
We put it back and take it XXX.
These mealy mumblers who enact this crime
Who make a modern mish and who deny
That we have ears to hear, who simplify,
Will likewise be a laughingstock to time.
O little O, O tempora, words Will
Outlive us all and keep on living still.
7th October 2015. Here’s the link to the story.
