A comprehensive account of Early Modern English considers writing and orthography, phonetics and phonology, syntax and the lexicon, and includes a valuable anthology of culturally oriented texts from a wide range of sources.

Terttu Nevalainen helps students to place the language of the period 1500-1700 in its historical context, whilst showing its regional and social variations. He focuses on the structure of the 'general dialect' and its spelling, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, as well as its dialectal origins.

This is a completely revised and updated edition of a highly successful textbook. It provides a practical and highly accessible introduction to the early stages of the English language: Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English. Designed specifically as a handbook for students beginning the study of early English language, whether for linguistic or literary purposes, it presumes little or no prior knowledge of the history of English. Features of this second edition include: newly added Middle English and Early Modern English sample texts and accompanying notes a new section on historical methods web links and an updated annotated bibliography.

Now in a completely revised edition, this book describes the English language between the years 1500 and 1700 - the different varieites of the language, the attitudes of its speakers towards it, and its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. It will be useful to serious students of the history of English and takes full account of those readers who are mainly interested in the literature of the period by providing plenty of references to literary works and authors.

The History of Early English provides an accessible and student-friendly introduction to the history of the English language from its beginnings until the end of the Early Modern English period. Taking an activity-based approach, this text ensures that students learn by engaging with the fascinating evolution of this language rather than simply reading about it. The History of Early English: Provides a comprehensive introduction to early, middle and early modern English; Introduces each language period with a text from writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare, accompanied by a series of guiding questions and commentaries that will engage readers and give them a flavour of the language of the time; Features a range of activities that include discussion points, questions, online tasks and preparatory activities that seamlessly take the reader from one chapter to the next; Is supported by a companion website featuring audio files, further activities and links to online material. Written by an experienced teacher and author, this book is the essential course textbook for any module on the history of English.

Now available in paperback, this is the first full-scale history of early modern English literature in nearly a century. It offers new perspectives on English literature produced in Britain between the Reformation and the Restoration. While providing the general coverage and specific information expected of a major history, its twenty-six chapters address recent methodological and interpretive developments in English literary studies. The book has five sections: Modes and Means of Literary Production, Circulation, and Reception , The Tudor Era from the Reformation to Elizabeth I , The Era of Elizabeth and James VI , The Earlier Stuart Era , and The Civil War and Commonwealth Era . While England is the principal focus, literary production in Scotland, Ireland and Wales is treated, as are other subjects less frequently examined in previous histories, including women s writings and the literature of the English Reformation and Revolution. This innovatively-designed history is an essential resource for specialists and students.

When we engage with the writings of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, we encounter a culture radically unfamiliar to us at the start of the twenty-first century. The past is a foreign country, and so too are many of its texts. This readable and provocative book seeks to enhance our understanding of early modern literature by recovering the contexts in which it was originally produced and consumed. Taking us back to the courts, theatres and marketplaces of early modern England, Jason Scott-Warren reveals the varied ways in which literary texts dovetailed with everyday experience, unlocking the distinctive social practices, economic structures and modes of behaviour that gave them meaning. He shows how the periods most beguiling writings were conditioned by long-forgotten notions of knowledge, nationhood, sexuality and personal identity. Bringing an anthropologists eye to his materials, he offers richly detailed new readings of works from within and beyond the canon, covering a span that stretches from Erasmus and More to Milton and Behn. Resisting any notion of the period as merely transitional a staging post on the road leading from the medieval to the modern world Scott-Warren reveals the distinctiveness of its literary culture, and equips the reader for fresh encounters with its extraordinary textual legacy. Any undergraduate student of the period will find it an essential guide, while scholars will find its fresh approach invigorating.

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

A definitive collection of critical essays on the literary and cultural impact of the early modern rogue

This volume offers a description of early modern habits of writing and reading, of publication and stage performance, and of political and religious writing. An introduction to early modern English literature for students and general readers. Considers the ways in which early modern writers construct the past, recover and adapt classical genres, write about people and places, and tackle religious and secular controversies. Illustrated with a profusion of excerpts from early modern texts. Writers represented include More, Erasmus, Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton, as well as less well known authors.