ENGL 301-131Prepared by: Ms. Sahar Deknash

The Death of Chaucer at the close of the 15th

century marked the beginning of a new era in

the English language history which is known

as Early Modern English ( EMoE).

EARLY MODERN ENGLISH1500-1800

EMoE was mainly marked by:

* A major change in the vowel system which is known as the GREAT VOWEL SHIFT.

* The development of a single literary and administrative variety of the language that was later to be called STANDARD ENGLISH.

During this period, a great interest in learning

arouse in England leading to the establishment of a

group that is called the inkhorn people. It refers to

a group of educated people who became more

aware of the importance of language as they

studied the writings of the Latin and Greek

languages.

They called for the use of these two classic

languages. Sir Thomas Elyot and Sir Thomas

More represented this group.

ME with its many variations and dialects

was replaced by a new and more

standardized language with a richer lexicon

and an established and original literature.

What Aspects Differentiate ME from EMoE?

1. To meet the need for words to describe the

new inventions and discoveries.

2. The expansion and extension of English

abroad and the contact with other languages.

The Word Stock of English expanded greatly for the following reasons:

3. The influence of the classical languages:

Latin, Greek and French remained strong and

they continued to be major sources of

loanwords.

The Word Stock of English expanded greatly for the following reasons:

4. Spanish and Portuguese became new

sources for English to borrow from.

5. Many other languages as: Scandinavian,

Italian, German , Arabic and other Asian

languages contributed to the word stock of

English.

6. The British Colonization to America which

started in the 15th century. Native American

languages began to influence and supply

English with many words, too.

A standard language is the one that is widely

spread over a large area, and respected by its

people and recognized for its usefulness. English

suffered once of inferiority from its speakers, but

suddenly during the fifteenth century it gained a

high status in the society and started developing

as the only standard language that should be

dealt with.

While Latin started to decline, English was

studied, described, codified in order to be given

its legal status. In order to gain standardization,

English cared about two aspect:

* Dictionaries

* Grammar Books

I. The first dictionary appeared in1604 by Robert Cowdrey. The dictionary ( A table of Alphapeticall) contained 2500 rare and borrowed words.

Early Modern English Dictionaries:

II. John Bullokar’s Dictionary ( An English Expositor) appeared in 1616 for archaic words.

III. Henry Cockerman’s dictionary ( English Dictionarie ) appeared in 1623 for refined and vulgar words.

IV. Thomas Blount’s dictionary ( Glossographia) appeared in 1656. It contained 11000 entries with the etymology of words.

V. Edward Cocker’s dictionary ( English Dictionary) appeared in1704.

VI. Nathan Bailey’s dictionary ( Universal Etymological English Dictionary) in 1721 contained 48000 entries of ordinary words with etymologies, cognate forms and stress placement.

The most important dictionary was Dr. Jonson’s

Dictionary ( A Dictionary of the English

Language), an impressive academic achievement in

its own right, appeared in 1755. Dr. Johnson’s goal

was not to “ reform but to register the language”

It was significant for the following reasons:

1. It was the first English-English dictionary.

2. It contained 43.000 words which helped to fix and

stable the spelling of English.

3. It contained illustrative quotations from famous

works of Shakespeare and Chaucer.

4. It was a model for OED which we use it today.

It is called the Golden Age of English

Literature due to the extensive number of

poets, writers play writers, literary works

produced and the number of words that were

coined and added to English at that time. The

bible translation from Latin into English continued.

Early Modern English Literature

The most important poets are:

Edmund Spenser

Edmund Spenser was born in

East Smithfield, London around

the year 1552. As a young boy,

he was educated in London at

the Merchant Taylors' School and

Cambridge.

Sir Philip Sidney:

was born in November 1554,In Kent. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of Ireland. He studied at Shrewsbury School at the age of ten. He didn’t continue his education due to travelling all through the continent. Among the placeshe visited were Paris, Frankfurt, Venice, and Vienna.

Edmund Spencer’s famous works are Letter to Queen Elizabeth I A dialogue Between Two Shepherds Astrophel and Stella The Lady of May Certain Sonnets Arcadia

Christopher Marlow:

He was a great Elizabethan

playwright. He was born

in Kent in February 1564.

His family was rich, so he

he was sent to the Kings

School. His famous works

are :

* Tamburline the Great and

* Dr. Faustus.

John Milton:A great English writer

of the 17th Century. He

was also a great believer

in liberty. He studied at

St Paul's school. He

Attended Cambridge

University in 1625.

He wrote the famous religious epic called Paradise Lost. Milton acquired a considerable reputation in his lifetime that only grew after his death and he was considered the greatest of English poets in the Victorian era.

His other famous works are: Sonnets Paradise Regained On Christian Doctrine

Ben Johnson:A contemporary poet andplaywright of William Shake-speare and Marlowe. HeWrote satirical plays as The Alchemist. He wrote manylyric poetry.

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