History of English Language Project: Early Modern English

Early Modern English - (some say ) forms the base of the grammatical and orthographical conventions that survive in Modern English. The Renaissance The Neoclassical Period Start of Romantic Period Elizebethan Age - Considered the height of the English Renaissance Medieval tradition William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Ben Johnson The Renaissance - Elizebethan Age Jacobean Age Caroline Age Commonwealth Period Jacobean Age - Sophisticated and full of rivalry King James Bible, poetry and prose of John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, and Andrew Marvel Caroline Age - Poets & Dramatists Commonwealth Period - Theaters on moral and religious grounds were closed for 18 years The Neoclassical Period - Heavily influenced by French literature of the day and is known for its use of philosophy, reason, skepticism, wit, and refinement Restoration Augustan Age Age of Sensibility (or Age of Johnson) Restoration - Prose, poetry, comedy. Milton, John Dryfen, 'john Locke Augustan Age (or Age of Pope) - Refinement, clarity, elegance, balanced judgement, Johnathan Swifti, Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe Age of Sensibility (or Age of Johnson) - instinct, feeling rather than judgement and restraint. Medieval ballads, folk literature. Samuel Johnson, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fieldings Vowel Shift - A major factor separating Middle English from Modern English is known as the Great Vowel Shift, a radical change in pronunciation during the 15th, 16th and 17th Century, as a result of which long vowel sounds began to be made higher and further forward in the mouth (short vowel sounds were largely unchanged) • a: > [e] name • e: > [i] fete > feet • 3: > [e] grete > great • [i:] > [ai] ride > ride • o: > [u} boote > boot • boot > boat • [u:] > [au] hus > house Vocabulary - The additions to English vocabulary during this period were deliberate borrowings. A whole category of words ending with the Greek-based suffixes "-ize" and "-ism" were also introduced around this time. English - by the end of the 16th Century, this language had finally become widely accepted as a language of learning, equal if not superior to the classical languages. Printing Press - Book of Common Prayer - 1549 The first version of ______ of the Church of England is published and introduced into English churches Thomas Wilson - 1553 Publishes The Art of Rhetorique, one of the first works on logic and rhetoric in English. Elizabeth - 1558 Becomes Queen William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar - 1586 This is the first grammar of English published. William Shakespeare - Writes his Sonnets and the majority of his plays. Romeo & Juliet Hamlet Macbeth A Summer's Night Othello