Are some of Shakespeare's romantic storybook heroines actually emoting sexually obscene (but very funny) lines?{"e;Sexual quibbles (puns, play-on words), covertly uttered by precious-and-pure heroines, call for an immediate revision of viewpoint."e;}When Fernando (The Tempest) is described as bravely swimming for shore "e;in lusty stroke"e;, would he be disqualified for doing this in Olympic competition?Before the walls of Harfleur, when Henry V threatens to "e;mow like grass your fresh-fair virgins"e; and have "e;your naked infants spitted upon pikes"e;, is he (and by inference his creator) barbarous? Or is he doing an hilarious comic imitation of Marlowe's Tamburlaine before the walls of Damascus?{"e;There exists an interesting Marlovian source for the Tamburlaine protagonist himself-Ivan the Terrible. He proposed marriage to Queen Elizabeth, who tactfully turned him down."e;}Rule Number 1: If a good writer seems surprisingly inept and has been known to be a wit or humorist, suspect parody or satire.Well, esteemed readers, you decide where to place your bets. On the critics? Or on William Shakespeare?