History of the English LanguageMiddle English: Early Modern English (1500-1800 AD)

Nicholas Troyer LAE 4332

The Great Vowel Shift• A chain shift of the way long vowels were pronounced in English that

evolved over hundreds of years.

• Spans from 12th to 18th century, but most drastic shifts occur between the 15th - 16th centuries.

• Measured in “8 Steps” of phonetic change:

The Great Vowel Shift• Main evidence of pronunciation stems from John Hart’s

Orthographie in 1569, where he attempts to devise a phonetic alphabet of the English language.

• Audio representations:– http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/sound/vowels1a.wav

– http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/sound/vowels1b.wav

• The best demonstration comes from Open.edu’s Youtube page where two experts recite Shakespeare in modern English and the pronunciation that would have been heard (presumably) during its time:– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

The Printing Press

The Printing Press• Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press was invented around 1447, and was the catalyst for a spread

of literacy throughout Europe. In 1455, Gutenberg printed his most significant work: The Bible.

• Aristocrats favored the value of manuscripts over printed books. This played a role in the affordability of the printed book by the common people of the time.

• Though most artists worked exclusively through patronage to a noble, many aristocratic poets and writers also allowed some of their work to be printed, including William Shakespeare.

The Gutenberg Bible

The Printing Press – How It Worked

The Printing Press – Fun (and gross) Facts!

Following information was provided by FSU professor Bruce Boerher.

• At the time, paper was made of recycled ‘rags’ – typically of old undergarments.

• Approximately 33 seconds into the previous slide’s video, you can see the printer rub ink onto the wood blocks. The leather coverings at the bottom of the tools he utilizes would frequently dry out over long periods of use. Without modern plumbing, water was not readily available for soaking. Printers used buckets of urine instead. Needless to say, printing workshops were not great smelling workplaces.

• Discarded paper – with or without print – was commonly used as a baking sheet to keep pastries or breads from sticking to cookware. Considering the previous two facts, Renaissance English cooking sounds far less appetizing than thought possible.

English Reformation• In 1534, King Henry VIII of England established the Church of

England and declared his authority over all religious matters in England.– Henry’s reformation came about to facilitate the annulment of his

marriage so he could wed Anne Boleyn.

• This reformation eventually led to Bibles printed in English – but not without some controversy and executions at the start. Translating Latin Bibles into English helped spread literacy throughout the country.

The Tyndale Bible• Despite Henry VIII’s snub to Rome and the Pope, in the

beginning of the reformation vernacular Bibles were still forbidden.

• In 1526, William Tyndale printed and published English Bibles; he believed that everyone – not just aristocrats – should be able to read or listen to the words of the Bible.

• For his beliefs and his published work, Tyndale was executed, and his book banned.

Tyndale’s legacy• The following phrases were coined in Tyndale’s Bible, and are

still in use today:– ‘Flowing with milk and honey'

– ‘The apple of his eye'

– ‘Signs of the times'

– ‘Broken-hearted'

– ‘Eat, drink and be merry'

– ‘The salt of the earth'

The Book of Common Prayers• When King Edward VI sat the throne in 1547, he also became

the head of the Church of England per his predecessor's decree.

• Edward VI and his parliament imposed the Book of Common Prayers in 1549. The most significant feature – besides controlling the beliefs and thoughts of his population – was that the entire Bible was printed in English.

• The Book of Common Prayers was large and expensive.– “It was a book for the people to hear, read aloud to them by the

minister.”

The English Renaissance• During the reformation period, England virtually exploded with

artwork. There was a surplus in poets and writers of all kinds within the aristocracy, and without – trying to find their place to the inner circle of the nobles.

• Major writers include: William Shakespeare, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Lady Mary Wroth, and Edmund Spenser.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)• Nicknamed The Bard, he is possibly the single most famous English

poet of all time.

• Wrote Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and a mountain of poetry, including 154 sonnets.

• Shakespeare coined over 1700 words that are still in use today. – Accused, advertising, arouse, assassination, fixture, gossip, hint, invulnerable,

obscene, panders, swagger, undress, worthless, zany, grovel, vaulting, majestic, gust, dawn, epileptic, gloomy, generous, flawed, cold-blooded, blushing.

– For more, see Shakespeare-lexicon: A Complete Dictionary of All the English Words, Phrases and Constructions in the Works of the Poet by Alexander Schmidt (1902)

Ben Jonson• One of Shakespeare’s literary rivals.

– Once said that Shakespeare “wanted art (lacked skill).”

– Also once said that Shakespeare was “Not of an age, but for all time.”

• Playwright and poet who was well educated despite humble upbringings as a bricklayer apprentice.

• Wrote “The Alchemist,” “To Penshurst,” and “The Masque of Blackness.”

• Notoriously quarrelsome. Jonson constantly argued, fought, and bickered with his peers. Ben Jonson killed two men in duels and was nearly hanged for murder as a result. His knowledge of reading and writing Latin allowed him to plea “to the benefit of the clergy” and he was granted a lenient sentence.

• Alexander Pope said that Jonson brought “critical learning into vogue.”

The Colonies• Christopher Columbus, adventuring under the Spanish flag,

landed on America in 1492. Soon after, all of Western Europe began sailing and colonizing the “new world.”

• Established in 1607, Jamestown became England’s first permanent colony in North America.

• Exploration of the new land and trade (or worse) with its people opened the eyes of the English to new cultures and ways of life.

• The English language also spread to North America with the colonists to facilitate teaching Christianity and making trades.

The American Revolution(1775 – 1783)

The American Revolution (1775 - 1783)• Shortly before and during the American Revolution, many

founding fathers and learned men began using English to shape the thought and will of a would-be nation. Early American writing was mostly politically charged.

• Influential colonial writers include Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine.

• Important works of the time include Common Sense; The American Crisis; and of course, The Declaration of Independence.

See file below for bibliography.