Editing Thomas Bowdler (section)

===Changes===
Bowdler lent his name to the English verb '''bowdlerise''', which means "to remove words or sections from a book or other work that are considered unsuitable or offensive".<ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bowdlerize?q=bowdlerise ''bowdlerise''] in Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 25 June 2022.</ref> The derivative noun is '''bowdlerism'''. Some examples of alterations made by Bowdler's edition:
* In ''[[Hamlet]]'', the death of [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]] was called an accidental drowning, not a possibly intended suicide.
* "God!" as an exclamation is replaced with "Heavens!"
* In ''[[Henry IV, Part 2]]'', the [[prostitute]] [[Doll Tearsheet]] is omitted outright, the slightly more reputable Mistress Quickly retained.

Prominent modern figures such as [[Michiko Kakutani]] (in ''[[The New York Times]]'') and [[William Safire]] (in his book ''How Not to Write'') have incorrectly accused Bowdler of changing Lady Macbeth's famous "Out, damned spot!" line in ''[[Macbeth]]'' to "Out, crimson spot!",<ref>Michiko Kakutani, "Light Out, Huck, They Still Want to Sivilize You", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 7 January 2011, at pp. C1 & 5 (only the original print version still contains the accusation – the online version has been corrected); William Safire, ''How Not to Write'' (1990; 2005 reprint), p. 100; {{Cite journal |first=Ross E. |last=Davies |year=2012 |title=Gray Lady Bowdler: The Continuing Saga of the Crimson Spot |journal=The Green Bag Almanac and Reader |pages=563–574 |ssrn=1758989}}</ref> when in fact this particular emendation was the work of [[Thomas Bulfinch]] and Stephen Bulfinch, in their 1865 edition of Shakespeare's works.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Ross E. |last=Davies |year=2009 |title=How Not to Bowdlerize |journal=The Green Bag Almanac and Reader |pages=235–240 |ssrn=1333764}}</ref>