COLOR EDU TIMELINE

Analysing Texts from the Past

Index

Map

Lexis

Timeline

Data

Grammar

Set Texts

Team

Comparison

NF Anthology

Thanks

Timeline

Spelling

Periods of English

Identifying the period a text comes from is a useful way of beginning an analysis of it. You may be able to recognise featiures that are charactersitic of the period.

449-1150

1450-1750

Present

1750-

1150-1450

Old English (OE) was spoken and written in Anglo-Saxon Britain from c. 449-1150. It is thought to consist of around 3 million words.

Early Modern English (EModE) coincides with the Renaissance, Tudor|Stuart dynasties and the arrival of Caxton's printing press (1476).

Present Day English (PDE) - also contemporary Modern English - refers to any of the varieties used by speakers alive today.

MIddle English (ME) tallies with the Norman conquest and dates roughly from 1150 to 1450.

(Late) Modern English (LModE) tallies with the North American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Othello was likely written around 1603-1604 so it may contain examples of Early Modern English

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Non-Fiction Anthology

Check the dates:Which periods of English seem to be represented by the texts in the Anthology?

Spelling

When analysing the text in question, look for patterns in the spelling, and try to offer comments and suggestions

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Lexis

Lexis is often more formal in older texts But you should also look out for some of the following:

Archaisms

Archaic meanings

Archaic contractions

New inventions

words/expressions that have disappeared from the language, or are now used rarely

words/expressions whose meaning has changed due to broadening or narrowing

words which have been shorted with an apostrohe

words/expressions that have entered into the newer text, e.g. neologisms, modern colloquialisms, words referring to modern inventions, ...

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Grammar

Sentences are often longer and more complex in older texts. In addition you should look out for:

Archaic Inflections

Archaic Pronouns

Word Order Differences

Verb Formation Differences

Archaic Verb forms

hath; didst; ...

thee; thy; thou; ...

esp. past tense, negatives, plurals & interrogatives

Our father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name

She doth worry not a bit

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Apostrophes used instead of 'e'

The use of an apostrophe where an 'e' might usually occur was very common in Early Modern English. This was often seen in instances where a past particple verb was used.

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JULIET How and why did you come here? The orchard walls are high and difficult to climb. And it will mean your death, because of who you are, if any of my family members find you here. ROMEO I flew over these walls on the wings of love. No stone wall can keep love out. Whatever a man in love can do, love will make him attempt to do it. Therefore your relatives can’t stop me.

JULIET How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here. ROMEO With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.

Compare the EModE words underlined on the left with their PDE translations on the right?

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Consonant doubling

In older periods of English, many words had doubled consonants. These unnecessary consonants have fallen away over the centuries.

As with the extra 'e', printing issues can sometimes explain why an extra consonant is added

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A reading of the opening lines of Beowulf in Old English

Calum Cockburn from the British Library's Medieval Manuscripts team reads the opening lines of the epic poem Beowulf in Old English. In the poem the hero, Beowulf, fights a series of monsters including a monster named Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a dragon.

You can read more about the poem Beowulf by following this link:

• https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/beowulf

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Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Written at the end of the 14th centur, it tells the story of a group of 29 pilgrims who meet while travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. To pass time on the journey, each pilgrim decides to tell two tales on the journey there and the journey home. The result is regarded as a master-work of medieval literature. The Tales, however, are unfinished...

Read more about The Canterbury Tales by clicking the url here:

• https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2017/04/chaucer-hitteth-the-web.html

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Spelling inconsistencies

It was also often the case that there were frequent spelling inconsistencies within a single text. This was likley to be caused by the fact that spelling had not yet been standardised.

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Word-final extra 'e'

Some words in EModE and LModE may contain an extra 'e' at the end of words.

Reasons for this might include:

• the extra 'e' could reflect an older pronunciation
• printers sometimes added extra letters in order to ensure that the text was justified (i.e. to fill a line)

Reversal of some vowels and/or consonants

Some vowels and consonants were used interchangeably and/or in a reverse way comapared to how they are used in contemporary English. Common examples included:

• 'y' and 'i' used in reverse
• 'u' and 'v' used in reverse

This occurred before the use of these letters became standardised in printing

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