Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing

Synopsis

Determining what is obscene is a timeless preoccupation, nearly as timeless as the search for words that adequately express a relationship with the divine. As Melissa Mohr shows in this imaginative and illuminating tour through linguistic history, those preoccupations are not separate. "Swearing" is what we do when we forge a bond with a higher authority, as when we tell the truth and nothing but the truth; it is also what we do to break that bond. In both cases, certain words are endowed with the power to shock or to awe. Obscenities tend toward the earthy and generally remind us that we have bodies. Oaths are lifted to heaven and serve to remind us that we have souls. Holy Sh*t brilliantly and entertainingly investigates these two kinds of swearing--obscenities and oaths--from ancient Rome and the Bible to the present, uncovering the history of sacred and profane language in English through the ages. It is a journey with a number of surprises. Obscenities in ancient Rome were remarkably similar to our own; George Carlin would have felt completely at home. With the rise of the Church came a new sense of how language should be used, or not--and the difference was often a matter of life and death. Holy Sh*t tracks the advancement of civility and corresponding censorship of language in the eighteenth century; considers the rise of racial slurs after World War II; examines the physiological effects of swearing (increased heart rate and greater pain tolerance); and answers a question that preoccupies the FCC, the U.S. Senate, and anyone who has lately visited a junior high school: are we swearing more now than people did in the past? A gem of lexicography and cultural history, Holy Sh*t is a serious exploration of linguistic totem and taboo. It charts the way swearing has changed over the centuries, and considers the cultural concerns that gave way to those changes. By looking at the words that have expressed our deepest emotions, high and low, Holy Sh*t reveals the shifting relationship between the divine and the dirty. MELISSA MOHR has recently been dividing her time between writing this book about swearing, and hiding it from her kids. She received a Ph.D. in English literature from Stanford University, specializing in Medieval and Renaissance literature. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Copyright:

2013

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

316 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780199742677

Publisher:

Oxford University Press, Incorporated

Date of Addition:

05/02/23

Copyrighted By:

Melissa Mohr

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Language Arts

Submitted By:

Terry Gorman

Proofread By:

Terry Gorman

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.