Shakespeare's 'Whores'

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction: ‘Am I that name’?

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 1-15

3. ‘Made to write “whore” upon?’: Male and Female Use of the Word ‘Whore’

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 16-42

4. ‘Enough to make a whore forswear her trade’: Prostitution as Woman’s ‘Oldest Profession’

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 43-68

5. The Heroic Tragedy of Cleopatra: The ‘Prostitute Queen’

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 69-114

6. Female Erotic Passion: Toward Sex As You Like It

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 115-134

7. Venus: Mother of All ‘Whores’

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 135-148

8. Stripping Shakespeare’s ‘Whores’

   • Kay Stanton

   Pages 149-158

9. Back Matter

   Pages 159-191

   PDF

Shakespeare's 'Whores' studies each use of the word 'whore' in Shakespeare's canon, focusing especially on the positive personal and social effects of female sexuality, as represented in several major female characters, from the goddess Venus, to the queen Cleopatra, to the cross-dressing Rosalind, and many others.

• poetics
• Prostitution
• William Shakespeare
• British and Irish Literature

"...playful, conversational, and excellent". Roland Greene, SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

• California State University, Fullerton, USA

  Kay Stanton

Kay Stanton is Professor of English at California State University, Fullerton, USA. A Shakespeare specialist, she has presented papers at over 90 professional conferences, in 12 countries, and has authored over 30 articles and book chapters, published in leading reference works such as The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare and A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare.

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