diff --git a/helpers_test.go b/helpers_test.go
index 030caa5..99ac806 100644
--- a/helpers_test.go
+++ b/helpers_test.go
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ func doLinkTestsInline(t *testing.T, tests []string) {
 		HTMLRendererParameters: params,
 	})
 	doTestsInlineParam(t, transformTests, TestParams{
-		HTMLFlags:              CommonHTMLFlags,
+		HTMLFlags:              UseXHTML,
 		HTMLRendererParameters: params,
 	})
 }
diff --git a/html.go b/html.go
index 6e26d92..96fb655 100644
--- a/html.go
+++ b/html.go
@@ -29,18 +29,23 @@ type HTMLFlags int
 
 // HTML renderer configuration options.
 const (
-	HTMLFlagsNone       HTMLFlags = 0
-	SkipHTML            HTMLFlags = 1 << iota // Skip preformatted HTML blocks
-	SkipStyle                                 // Skip embedded <style> elements
-	SkipImages                                // Skip embedded images
-	SkipLinks                                 // Skip all links
-	Safelink                                  // Only link to trusted protocols
-	NofollowLinks                             // Only link with rel="nofollow"
-	NoreferrerLinks                           // Only link with rel="noreferrer"
-	HrefTargetBlank                           // Add a blank target
-	CompletePage                              // Generate a complete HTML page
-	UseXHTML                                  // Generate XHTML output instead of HTML
-	FootnoteReturnLinks                       // Generate a link at the end of a footnote to return to the source
+	HTMLFlagsNone           HTMLFlags = 0
+	SkipHTML                HTMLFlags = 1 << iota // Skip preformatted HTML blocks
+	SkipStyle                                     // Skip embedded <style> elements
+	SkipImages                                    // Skip embedded images
+	SkipLinks                                     // Skip all links
+	Safelink                                      // Only link to trusted protocols
+	NofollowLinks                                 // Only link with rel="nofollow"
+	NoreferrerLinks                               // Only link with rel="noreferrer"
+	HrefTargetBlank                               // Add a blank target
+	CompletePage                                  // Generate a complete HTML page
+	UseXHTML                                      // Generate XHTML output instead of HTML
+	FootnoteReturnLinks                           // Generate a link at the end of a footnote to return to the source
+	Smartypants                                   // Enable smart punctuation substitutions
+	SmartypantsFractions                          // Enable smart fractions (with Smartypants)
+	SmartypantsDashes                             // Enable smart dashes (with Smartypants)
+	SmartypantsLatexDashes                        // Enable LaTeX-style dashes (with Smartypants)
+	SmartypantsAngledQuotes                       // Enable angled double quotes (with Smartypants) for double quotes rendering
 
 	TagName               = "[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9-]*"
 	AttributeName         = "[a-zA-Z_:][a-zA-Z0-9:._-]*"
@@ -102,6 +107,8 @@ type HTMLRenderer struct {
 
 	lastOutputLen int
 	disableTags   int
+
+	sr *SPRenderer
 }
 
 const (
@@ -127,6 +134,8 @@ func NewHTMLRenderer(params HTMLRendererParameters) *HTMLRenderer {
 
 		closeTag:  closeTag,
 		headerIDs: make(map[string]int),
+
+		sr: NewSmartypantsRenderer(params.Flags),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -402,6 +411,10 @@ func (r *HTMLRenderer) RenderNode(w io.Writer, node *Node, entering bool) WalkSt
 	attrs := []string{}
 	switch node.Type {
 	case Text:
+		node.Literal = esc(node.Literal)
+		if r.Flags&Smartypants != 0 {
+			node.Literal = r.sr.Process(node.Literal)
+		}
 		r.out(w, node.Literal)
 		break
 	case Softbreak:
@@ -705,7 +718,7 @@ func (r *HTMLRenderer) RenderNode(w io.Writer, node *Node, entering bool) WalkSt
 	return GoToNext
 }
 
-func (r *HTMLRenderer) writeDocumentHeader(w *bytes.Buffer, sr *SPRenderer) {
+func (r *HTMLRenderer) writeDocumentHeader(w *bytes.Buffer) {
 	if r.Flags&CompletePage == 0 {
 		return
 	}
@@ -721,8 +734,8 @@ func (r *HTMLRenderer) writeDocumentHeader(w *bytes.Buffer, sr *SPRenderer) {
 	}
 	w.WriteString("<head>\n")
 	w.WriteString("  <title>")
-	if r.Extensions&Smartypants != 0 {
-		w.Write(sr.Process([]byte(r.Title)))
+	if r.Flags&Smartypants != 0 {
+		w.Write(r.sr.Process([]byte(r.Title)))
 	} else {
 		w.Write(esc([]byte(r.Title)))
 	}
@@ -817,20 +830,8 @@ func (r *HTMLRenderer) writeDocumentFooter(w *bytes.Buffer) {
 func (r *HTMLRenderer) Render(ast *Node) []byte {
 	//println("render_Blackfriday")
 	//dump(ast)
-	// Run Smartypants if it's enabled or simply escape text if not
-	sr := NewSmartypantsRenderer(r.Extensions)
-	ast.Walk(func(node *Node, entering bool) WalkStatus {
-		if node.Type == Text {
-			if r.Extensions&Smartypants != 0 {
-				node.Literal = sr.Process(node.Literal)
-			} else {
-				node.Literal = esc(node.Literal)
-			}
-		}
-		return GoToNext
-	})
 	var buff bytes.Buffer
-	r.writeDocumentHeader(&buff, sr)
+	r.writeDocumentHeader(&buff)
 	if r.Extensions&TOC != 0 || r.Extensions&OmitContents != 0 {
 		r.writeTOC(&buff, ast)
 		if r.Extensions&OmitContents != 0 {
diff --git a/inline_test.go b/inline_test.go
index fe73f7f..4be754c 100644
--- a/inline_test.go
+++ b/inline_test.go
@@ -1012,11 +1012,7 @@ func TestInlineComments(t *testing.T) {
 		"blahblah\n<!--- foo -->\nrhubarb\n",
 		"<p>blahblah\n<!--- foo -->\nrhubarb</p>\n",
 	}
-	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsDashes,
-		},
-	})
+	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsDashes})
 }
 
 func TestSmartDoubleQuotes(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1028,11 +1024,7 @@ func TestSmartDoubleQuotes(t *testing.T) {
 		"two pair of \"some\" quoted \"text\".\n",
 		"<p>two pair of &ldquo;some&rdquo; quoted &ldquo;text&rdquo;.</p>\n"}
 
-	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants,
-		},
-	})
+	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants})
 }
 
 func TestSmartAngledDoubleQuotes(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1044,11 +1036,7 @@ func TestSmartAngledDoubleQuotes(t *testing.T) {
 		"two pair of \"some\" quoted \"text\".\n",
 		"<p>two pair of &laquo;some&raquo; quoted &laquo;text&raquo;.</p>\n"}
 
-	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsAngledQuotes,
-		},
-	})
+	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsAngledQuotes})
 }
 
 func TestSmartFractions(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1058,11 +1046,7 @@ func TestSmartFractions(t *testing.T) {
 		"1/2/2015, 1/4/2015, 3/4/2015; 2015/1/2, 2015/1/4, 2015/3/4.\n",
 		"<p>1/2/2015, 1/4/2015, 3/4/2015; 2015/1/2, 2015/1/4, 2015/3/4.</p>\n"}
 
-	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants,
-		},
-	})
+	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants})
 
 	tests = []string{
 		"1/2, 2/3, 81/100 and 1000000/1048576.\n",
@@ -1070,11 +1054,7 @@ func TestSmartFractions(t *testing.T) {
 		"1/2/2015, 1/4/2015, 3/4/2015; 2015/1/2, 2015/1/4, 2015/3/4.\n",
 		"<p>1/2/2015, 1/4/2015, 3/4/2015; 2015/1/2, 2015/1/4, 2015/3/4.</p>\n"}
 
-	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsFractions,
-		},
-	})
+	doTestsInlineParam(t, tests, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsFractions})
 }
 
 func TestDisableSmartDashes(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1093,7 +1073,7 @@ func TestDisableSmartDashes(t *testing.T) {
 		"<p>foo &mdash; bar</p>\n",
 		"foo --- bar\n",
 		"<p>foo &mdash;&ndash; bar</p>\n",
-	}, TestParams{Options: Options{Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsDashes}})
+	}, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsDashes})
 	doTestsInlineParam(t, []string{
 		"foo - bar\n",
 		"<p>foo - bar</p>\n",
@@ -1101,11 +1081,7 @@ func TestDisableSmartDashes(t *testing.T) {
 		"<p>foo &ndash; bar</p>\n",
 		"foo --- bar\n",
 		"<p>foo &mdash; bar</p>\n",
-	}, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{
-			Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsLatexDashes | SmartypantsDashes,
-		},
-	})
+	}, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsLatexDashes | SmartypantsDashes})
 	doTestsInlineParam(t, []string{
 		"foo - bar\n",
 		"<p>foo - bar</p>\n",
@@ -1113,9 +1089,7 @@ func TestDisableSmartDashes(t *testing.T) {
 		"<p>foo -- bar</p>\n",
 		"foo --- bar\n",
 		"<p>foo --- bar</p>\n",
-	}, TestParams{
-		Options: Options{Extensions: Smartypants | SmartypantsLatexDashes},
-	})
+	}, TestParams{HTMLFlags: Smartypants | SmartypantsLatexDashes})
 }
 
 func TestSkipLinks(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/markdown.go b/markdown.go
index 85294d7..5696ce9 100644
--- a/markdown.go
+++ b/markdown.go
@@ -36,37 +36,32 @@ type Extensions int
 // These are the supported markdown parsing extensions.
 // OR these values together to select multiple extensions.
 const (
-	NoExtensions            Extensions = 0
-	NoIntraEmphasis         Extensions = 1 << iota // Ignore emphasis markers inside words
-	Tables                                         // Render tables
-	FencedCode                                     // Render fenced code blocks
-	Autolink                                       // Detect embedded URLs that are not explicitly marked
-	Strikethrough                                  // Strikethrough text using ~~test~~
-	LaxHTMLBlocks                                  // Loosen up HTML block parsing rules
-	SpaceHeaders                                   // Be strict about prefix header rules
-	HardLineBreak                                  // Translate newlines into line breaks
-	TabSizeEight                                   // Expand tabs to eight spaces instead of four
-	Footnotes                                      // Pandoc-style footnotes
-	NoEmptyLineBeforeBlock                         // No need to insert an empty line to start a (code, quote, ordered list, unordered list) block
-	HeaderIDs                                      // specify header IDs  with {#id}
-	Titleblock                                     // Titleblock ala pandoc
-	AutoHeaderIDs                                  // Create the header ID from the text
-	BackslashLineBreak                             // Translate trailing backslashes into line breaks
-	DefinitionLists                                // Render definition lists
-	Smartypants                                    // Enable smart punctuation substitutions
-	SmartypantsFractions                           // Enable smart fractions (with Smartypants)
-	SmartypantsDashes                              // Enable smart dashes (with Smartypants)
-	SmartypantsLatexDashes                         // Enable LaTeX-style dashes (with Smartypants)
-	SmartypantsAngledQuotes                        // Enable angled double quotes (with Smartypants) for double quotes rendering
-	TOC                                            // Generate a table of contents
-	OmitContents                                   // Skip the main contents (for a standalone table of contents)
+	NoExtensions           Extensions = 0
+	NoIntraEmphasis        Extensions = 1 << iota // Ignore emphasis markers inside words
+	Tables                                        // Render tables
+	FencedCode                                    // Render fenced code blocks
+	Autolink                                      // Detect embedded URLs that are not explicitly marked
+	Strikethrough                                 // Strikethrough text using ~~test~~
+	LaxHTMLBlocks                                 // Loosen up HTML block parsing rules
+	SpaceHeaders                                  // Be strict about prefix header rules
+	HardLineBreak                                 // Translate newlines into line breaks
+	TabSizeEight                                  // Expand tabs to eight spaces instead of four
+	Footnotes                                     // Pandoc-style footnotes
+	NoEmptyLineBeforeBlock                        // No need to insert an empty line to start a (code, quote, ordered list, unordered list) block
+	HeaderIDs                                     // specify header IDs  with {#id}
+	Titleblock                                    // Titleblock ala pandoc
+	AutoHeaderIDs                                 // Create the header ID from the text
+	BackslashLineBreak                            // Translate trailing backslashes into line breaks
+	DefinitionLists                               // Render definition lists
+	TOC                                           // Generate a table of contents
+	OmitContents                                  // Skip the main contents (for a standalone table of contents)
 
-	CommonHTMLFlags HTMLFlags = UseXHTML
+	CommonHTMLFlags HTMLFlags = UseXHTML | Smartypants |
+		SmartypantsFractions | SmartypantsDashes | SmartypantsLatexDashes
 
 	CommonExtensions Extensions = NoIntraEmphasis | Tables | FencedCode |
 		Autolink | Strikethrough | SpaceHeaders | HeaderIDs |
-		BackslashLineBreak | DefinitionLists | Smartypants |
-		SmartypantsFractions | SmartypantsDashes | SmartypantsLatexDashes
+		BackslashLineBreak | DefinitionLists
 )
 
 // DefaultOptions is a convenience variable with all the options that are
diff --git a/smartypants.go b/smartypants.go
index 3f3151c..82f6c58 100644
--- a/smartypants.go
+++ b/smartypants.go
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ func (r *SPRenderer) smartLeftAngle(out *bytes.Buffer, previousChar byte, text [
 type smartCallback func(out *bytes.Buffer, previousChar byte, text []byte) int
 
 // NewSmartypantsRenderer constructs a Smartypants renderer object.
-func NewSmartypantsRenderer(flags Extensions) *SPRenderer {
+func NewSmartypantsRenderer(flags HTMLFlags) *SPRenderer {
 	var r SPRenderer
 	if flags&SmartypantsAngledQuotes == 0 {
 		r.callbacks['"'] = r.smartDoubleQuote
@@ -403,8 +403,6 @@ func NewSmartypantsRenderer(flags Extensions) *SPRenderer {
 // Process is the entry point of the Smartypants renderer.
 func (r *SPRenderer) Process(text []byte) []byte {
 	var buff bytes.Buffer
-	// first do normal entity escaping
-	text = esc(text)
 	mark := 0
 	for i := 0; i < len(text); i++ {
 		if action := r.callbacks[text[i]]; action != nil {