LECTURE 8LECTURE 8

Early Modern Early Modern English:English:

language (I)language (I)Lei ZHUShanghai International Studies University

ISTORY OF ENGLISHISTORY OF ENGLISH

1 English in the 15th century• Early 15th-century English (East

Midland)

The Boke of Margery Kempe

1 English in the 15th century• Early 15th-century English (East

Midland)

The Boke of Margery Kempe

1 English in the 15th century• Late 15th-century English (East

Midland)

Margery Brews to John Paston (Feb. 1477) from the Paston letters

Vn-to my ryght welbelouyd Voluntyn John Paston, squyer, be þis bill + delyuered, &c.

Ryght reuerent and wurschypfull and my ryght welebeloued Voluntyne, I recommande me vn-to yowe full hertely, desyring to here of yowr welefare, whech I beseche Almyghty God long for to preserve vn-to hys plesure and owr hertys desyre. And yf it please owʒ ʒe to here of my welefare, I am not in good heele of body ner of herte, nor schall be tyll I here from yowe;

For þer wottys no creature what peyn þat I endure,

And for to be deede I dare it not dyscure.

And my lady my moder hath labored þe mater to my fadure full delygently, but sche can no more gete þen e knowe of, for þe whech God knowyth I am full sory. But yf that e loʒ ʒffe me, as I tryste verely that e do, e will not leffe me þerfor; for if þat e hade not halfe ʒ ʒ ʒþe lyvelode þat e hafe, for to do þe grettyst labure þat any woman on lyve myght, I wolʒd not forsake owe.ʒ

And yf e commande me to kepe me true where-euer I goʒ

Iwyse I will do all my myght owe to love and neuer no mo.ʒ

And yf my freendys say þat I do amys, þei schal not me let so for to do,

Myn herte me byddys euer more to love owe Truly ouer all erthely thing.ʒ

And yf þei be neuer so wroth, I tryst it schall be bettur in tyme commyng.

No more to yowe at this tyme, but the Holy Trinité hafe owe in kepyng. And I besech oʒ ʒwe þat this bill be not seyn of non erthely creature safe only our-selfe, &c. And thys lettʒur was jndyte at Topcroft wyth full heuy herte, &c.

Be our own M. B.ʒMargery Brews to John Paston (Feb. 1477) from the Paston letters

Margery Brews to John Paston (Feb. 1477) from the Paston letters

1 English in the 15th century• Chancery English

1 English in the 15th century• The beginning of printin

gca.1440 invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenbergca.1455 The Gutenberg Bible (in German) printedca.1475 Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (in English) printed by William Caxton in Bruges

1476 Setting-up of William Caxton’s printing press in London 1476 First edition of The Canterbury Tales printed…… 1501

the first book printed in English

the first book printed in England

William Caxton

(1422-1492)

fifte

ener

s / i

ncun

abul

a / i

ncun

able

s

1 English in the 15th century• The beginning of printing

— William Caxton’s prologue to Eneydos

And that comyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from another. In so moche that in my dayes happened that certayn marchauntes were in a shippe in Tamyse, for to haue sayled ouer the see into Selande, and for lacke of wynde thei taryed atte Forlond, and wente to lande for to refreshe them; And one of theym named Sheffelde, a mercer, cam in-to an hows and axed for mete; and specyally he axyed after eggys; and the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe, And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde haue hadde ‘egges’ and she vunderstode hym not. And theene at laste another sayd that he wolde haue ‘eyren’ then the good wyf sayd that she vnderstod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, ‘egges’ or ‘eyren’?

2 Early ModE paleography• Handwriting

Book hand (Book hand ( 楷书楷书 )) Court hand (Court hand ( 行书行书 )) Text hand Chancery hand (<Anglicana)

Secretary hand

Italic hand / humanistic hand

Bastard Secretary

Round hand

Secretary hand

Sir William Kingston to Lord Lisle,

26 Sept. 1533

Secretary hand

Shakespeare’s signatures

Willm Shakp William Shakspēr Wm Shakspē William Shakspere Willm Shakspere William Shakspeare

2 Early ModE paleography• Handwriting

Book hand (Book hand ( 楷书楷书 )) Text hand

• Printing fonts

Black letter

17th-century print

• Punctuation

John Hart’s An Orthographie (1569)

/ virgule, comma. prick: colon? question

mark! exclamation

mark( )

parentheses

3 Pronunciation and orthography• Evidence

Books on pronunciation and orthographyJohn Hart’s An Orthographie (1569)William Bullokar’s Boke at Large (1580)Fox & Hooke’s Instructions for Right Spelling

(1673)Christopher Cooper’s The English Teacher (1

687)Meter and rhyme in poetry

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

John Hart’s An Orthographie (1569)

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

John Dryden’s translation of Aeneis (1697)

Early Modern English vowels

Long vowels: The Great Vowel Shift

Long vowels: The Great Vowel Shift

Short vowels

Early Modern English consonants

gh (silent) / [f]

[θ] / [ð]

Ye/yt…

dg

yw

ch

sh

Early Modern English consonants

Other changes:

ME eModE

final [mb] > [m] OE climban > climben [ kli mb n] > climb [kl m]ˈ ː ə ʌɪ

final [nd] > [n] OF launde > laund [la nd] > lawn [l n]ʊ ɔː

[n] > [nd] L sonus > F son > s(o)un [su n] > sound [s nd]ː ʌʊ

[alC] > [a C]ʊ OE talcian > talken [ talk n] > talk [t k]ˈ ə ɔː

[æ C] (C=f/v/m)ː OE healf > half [half] > half [hæ f]ː

[ lC] > [o C] (C=m/k)ɔ ʊ OE folc > folk [f lk] > folk [fo k]ɔ ʊ

initial [kn] > [n] OE cnawan > knowen [ kn w n] > know [no ]ˈ ɔː ə ʊ

initial [gn] > [n] OE gnagan > gnawen [ ɡna w n] > gnaw [n ]ˈ ː ə ɔː

suffix [ ɡ] > [ n]ɪŋ ɪ

t [t] > th [θ] L thronus > OF trone > trone [ tr n ]ˈ ɔː ə > throne [θro n]ː

aut > ault L fallere > OF faute > faute [ fa t ] > fault [f t]ˈ ʊ ə ɔː

Clo. Why sir, his hide is so tan’d with his Trade, that he will keepe out water a great while. And your water, is a sore Decayer of your horson dead body. Heres a Scull now: this Scul has laine in the earth three & twenty years.

Ham. Whose was it?

Clo. A whoreson mad Fellowes it was;

Whose doe you thinke it was?

Ham. Nay, I know not.

Clo. A pestlence on him for a mad rogue, a pou’rd a Flaggon of Renish on my head once. This same Scull Sir, this same Scull sir, was Yoricks Scull, the King’s jester.

Ham. This?

Clo. E’ene that.

4 Reading practice (V)小丑甲 因为，先生，他的皮硝得比人家的硬，可以长久不透水；倒楣的尸体一碰到水，是最会腐烂的。这儿又是一个骷髅；这骷髅已经埋在地下二十三年了。

哈姆莱特 它是谁的骷髅？

小丑甲 是个婊子养的疯小子；你猜是谁？

哈姆莱特 不，我猜不出。

小丑甲 这个遭瘟的疯小子！他有一次把一瓶葡萄酒倒在我的头上。这一个骷髅，先生，是国王的弄人郁利克的骷髅。

哈姆莱特 这就是他！

小丑甲 正是他。

Ham. Let me see. Alas poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Iest; of most excellent fancy, he hath borne me on his backe a thousand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is, my gorge rises at it. Heere hung those lipps, that I haue kist I know not how oft, Where be your Iibes now? Your Gambals? Your Songs? Your flashes of Merriment that were wont to set the Table on a Rore? No one now to mock your own Ieering? Quite chopfalne? Now get you to my Ladies Chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thicke, to this fauour she must come. Make her laugh at that: prythee Horatio tell me one thing.

Hor. What’s that my Lord?

Ham. Dost thou thinke Alexander lookt o’this fashion i’th’ earth?

Hor. E’ene so.

Ham. And smelt so? Puh.

Hor. E’ene so, my Lord.

哈姆莱特 让我看。（取骷髅）唉，可怜的郁利克！霍拉旭，我认识他；他是一个最会开玩笑、非常富于想像力的家伙。他曾经把我负在肯上一千次；现在我一想起来，却忍不住胸头作恶。这儿本来有两片嘴唇，我不知吻过它们多少次。——现在你还会挖苦人吗？你还会蹦蹦跳跳，逗人发笑吗？你还会唱歌吗？你还会随口编造一些笑话，说得满座捧腹吗？你没有留下一个笑话，讥笑你自己吗？这样垂头丧气了吗？现在你给我到小姐的闺房里去，对她说，凭她脸上的脂粉搽得一寸厚，到后来总要变成这个样子的；你用这样的话告诉她，看她笑不笑吧。霍拉旭，请你告诉我一件事情。

霍拉旭 什么事情，殿下？

哈姆莱特 你想亚历山大在地下也是这副形状吗？

霍拉旭 也是这样。

哈姆莱特 也有同样的臭味吗？呸！（掷下骷髅。）

霍拉旭 也有同样的臭味，殿下。

Ham. To what base vses we may returne Horatio. Why may not Imagination trace the Noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bunghole.

Hor. ’Twere to consider: to curiously consider so.

Ham. No faith, not a iot. But to follow him thether with modestie enough, & likeliehood to lead it; as thus. Alexander died: Alexander was buried: Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make Lome, and why of that Lome (whereto he was conuerted) might they not stopp a Beere-barrell?

Imperial Cæsar, dead and turn’d to clay,

Might stop a hole to keepe the winde away.

Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,

Should patch a Wall, t’expell the winters flaw.

But soft, but soft, aside; heere comes the King.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act V Scene I （朱生豪译）

哈姆莱特 谁知道我们将来会变成一些什么下贱的东西，霍拉旭！要是我们用想像推测下去，谁知道亚历山大的高贵的尸体，不就是塞在酒桶口上的泥土？

霍拉旭 那未免太想入非非了。

哈姆莱特 不，一点不，我们可以不作怪论、合情合理地推想他怎样会到那个地步；比方说吧：亚历山大死了；亚历山大埋葬了；亚历山大化为尘土；人们把尘土做成烂泥；那么为什么亚历山大所变成的烂泥，不会被人家拿来塞在啤酒桶的口上呢？

　　凯撒死了，你尊严的尸体

　　也许变了泥把破墙填砌；

　　啊！他从前是何等的英雄，

　　现在只好替人挡雨遮风！

　　可是不要作声！不要作声！站开；国王来了。