Change and Development in the English Language - Essay Example

Change and Development in the English Language Thesis ment: Shakespearean plays are the most essential examples of the change and development ofthe English language through the modern period and, according to Grady, "One of the many remarkable features of the four-hundred-year-old archive of writings about the plays of Shakespeare is the frequency with which his works is termed 'modern'." (Grady, 1) Topic Sentence 1: English language has developed through various ages and Shakespearean plays illustrate most effectively the growth of the language during the early modern period.

Topic Sentence 2: Though the plays by Shakespeare provide the best example of modern English in its earliest time, "the issue of Shakespeare's connections with it is complicated by the difficulty of determining precisely when modernity began." (Grady, 2) Topic Sentence 3: In an analysis of the linguistic features of the Early Modern English in connection with the language of Shakespearean plays, it becomes obvious that the language used by Shakespeare belongs to the early years of Modern English and there is nothing standard about the orthography in Shakespearean English, a feature he shared with the Early Modern English.

Topic Sentence 4: An analysis of the two extracts from Shakespeare's plays - King Lear, Act IV, Scene 6 and Henry V, Act III, Scene 2 - confirms that Shakespearean English illustrates the features of Early Modern English. Shakespeare's plays and Early Modern English One of the most essential examples of the change and development of the English language through the modern period is provided by the Shakespearean plays are and his plays are frequently termed as 'modern'. Significantly, the English language has developed through various ages and the growth of the language during the early modern period can be best comprehended in a profound analysis of Shakespearean plays.

Although there is an essential issue concerning Shakespeare's connections with modernity as it is difficult to determine precisely when modernity began, the plays by Shakespeare provide the best example of modern English in its earliest times. In an analysis of the linguistic features of the Early Modern English in connection with the language of Shakespearean plays, it becomes obvious that the language used by Shakespeare belongs to the early years of Modern English and there is nothing standard about the orthography in Shakespearean English, a feature he shared with the Early Modern English.

The arguments which state that Shakespearean plays are the best illustrations of the Early Modern English can be supported by the fact that these plays express essential features of the Early Modern English. "In the printed texts of the Early Modern period, therefore, we find very little reflection of regional variation inside England. Sometimes, however, attempts are made to depict regional dialects in non- pastoral contexts, especially in the drama. In Shakespeare's King Lear there is a scene where the disguised Edgar, defending his father from the steward Oswald, adopts a rustic style of speech.

" (Barber, 11) An analysis of the two extracts from Shakespeare's plays - King Lear, Act IV, Scene 6 and Henry V, Act III, Scene 2 - confirms that Shakespearean English illustrates the features of Early Modern English. Works Cited Grady, Hugh. Shakespeare and Modernity: Early Modern to Millennium. London: Routledge. 2000. P 1. Barber, Charles Laurence. Early Modern English. London: Edinburgh University Press. 1997. P 11.