Thursday, 29 May 2014

Shakespeare Oddly Reticent

And there's another book with this title, too, and this one's published in the UK. So it's back to The Business of Death. The other book with that title is only published in the US and Australia. (There's no copyright in a book title). 
The only reference to undertakers in Shakespeare is in Othello, when Iago volunteers to kill Cassio by saying "let me be his undertaker".  

Notes to the text usually explain that was in the sense of undertaking to do a job, rather than removal of the remains and arranging a funeral. But that might be wrong. See http://overyourdeadbody.blogspot.com/2014/07/shakespeare-buffs-may-just-be-wrong.html

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