Shakespeare and Early Modern English

1. Define and explain, The Great Vowel Shift.

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in the south of England between 1450 and 1750.The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term. The values of the long vowels form the main difference between the pronunciation of Middle English and Modern English, and the Great Vowel Shift is one of the historical events marking the separation of Middle and Modern English.

2. Name 5 dialects of Modern English.

New Zealand English - Philippine English - Singaporean English, - Canadian English -Cameroon English -Jamaican English

3. One of the problems with Early Modern English was a lack of uniformity in spelling. Which 2 people (1-English, 1-American) helped establish standardized spelling?

The British Samuel Johnson’s dictionary was published in 1755 and it was influential in establishing a standard form of spelling and the American Noah Webster did the same in America, publishing his dictionary in 1828. Public education increased literacy, and more people had access to books (and therefore to a standard language) with the spread of public libraries in the 19th century.

4. How many countries in the world have given Modern English official status?

There are at least 56 countries

5. The most recent statistics show that approximately how many people speak Modern English as a:I. First language? II. Second Language?

First Language: 309 – 380 million
Second Language: 199 – 600 million aprox

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?

It was spoken at the end of the Middle English period the latter half of the 15th century to 1650.

7. How are the use of Pronouns different between Early Modern & Modern English?

In Early Modern English: Two second person personal pronouns (thou, the informal singular pronoun, and ye, which was both the plural pronoun and the formal singular pronoun). (Thou was already falling out of use in the Early Modern English period, but remained customary for addressing God and certain other solemn occasions and sometimes for addressing inferiors.)
Like other personal pronouns, thou and ye had different forms depending on their grammatical case; specifically, the objective form of thou was thee, its possessive forms were thy and thine, and its reflexive or emphatic form was thyself, while the objective form of ye was you, its possessive forms were your and yours, and its reflexive or emphatic forms were yourself and yourselves.
In other respects, the pronouns were much the same as today. One difference is that my and thy became mine and thine before words beginning with a vowel and letter h; thus, mine eyes, thine hand, and so on.
In modern English, we can see the disuse of the T-V distinction (thou, ye). The use of auxiliary verbs becomes mandatory in interrogative sentences and the rise and fall of prescriptive grammarians.

8. Which language families does Modern English belong in?

Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic, Anglo–Frisian, Anglic.

9. Name 4 worldwide uses for modern english.

United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, United States of America.

10. In your opinion, what was the greatest influence on the spread of modern english around the world? Why?

Nowadays the English Language is one of the most important languages because if you know English you can probably work everywhere and you can earn your money to do whatever you want so probably that's why know this language is an advantage because is one of the most popular languages around the world.

11. There has been a lot of controversy over the true authorship of Shakespeare’s writings. Which 3 people are also candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare’s plays?.

The 3 candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare’s plays are Francis Bacon,Christopher Marlowe and Edward de Vere.

12. - Briefly explain The Oxfordian Theory.

The Oxfordian theory is based on the authorship of many plays, and poems that are attributed to William Shakespeare. Oxfordians thought that many works belong to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of The Oxford because of his reputation as a concealed poet. There are similarities between Oxford’s biography and events in Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and longer poems as well as the language.

13.- Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, which according to the Folio Classification, fall into 3 categories. Name the 3 categories.

Comedies
Histories
Tragedies.

14. - In which town was Shakespeare born?

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

15. Which famous London theatre (built by actors, for actors) is connected with Shakespeare's plays?

- The Globe Theatre

16. Even though Richard III is the most performed play, Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous play. In your opinion, what does this portion of Hamlet's famous soliloquy mean:
To be or not to be, that is the question;(…)

Hamlet has the internal fight if to live or to die given the pain he feels at his father's death/murder, and his mother Gertrude's hasty remarriage to the murderer. In this soliloquy, he wonders if it is nobler to bear his grief, or to take action.

17. Name 5 post-Shakespearean artists whose work was heavily influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare.

George Steiner, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens and Herman Melville’s.

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays are included in The Wars of the Roses series?

Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V; Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; and Richard III.

19. Shakespeare wrote most of his works in blank verse composed in iambic pentameter. What is blank verse & iambic pentameter?

Blank verse was Shakespeare's standard poetic form, and this is composed in iambic pentameter. This meant that his verse was usually unrhymed and consisted of ten syllables to a line, spoken with a stress on every second syllable.

20. Name 4 actors from Shakepeare's original company.

Richard Burbage, William Kempe, Henry Condell and John Heminges.

21. What were the Wars of the Roses (1377-1485)?

The War of The Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England, fought between supporters of two rival branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York (the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively).

22. - Why was this war called the Wars of the Roses?

The Wars of the Roses had got its name because the houses of York and Lancaster. Both had a rose in their royal badges. The White rose for the house of York and the red one for the house of Lancaster.

23. - What were the names of the 2 houses which fought in this war?

The house of Lancaster
The house of York
(The "red" and the "white" rose)

24. - What prompted this civil war of the houses of rose to begin?

Following the early death of Edward III's heir apparent, there was a series of wars between the descendants of two of Edward III's younger sons: the Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of York because they wanted the throne of England.

25. - How did the war end?

After many battles a period of comparative peace followed, but Edward died unexpectedly in 1483. His surviving brother Richard of Gloucester first moved to prevent the unpopular Woodville family of Edward's widow from participating in government during the minority of Edward's son, Edward V, and then seized the throne for himself, using the suspect legitimacy of Edward IV's marriage as pretext. Henry Tudor, a distant relative of the Lancastrian kings who had inherited their claim, overcame and defeated Richard at Bosworth in 1485. He was crowned Henry VII, and married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, to unite and reconcile the two houses.

26. - Which Kings of England were participants in the wars of the Roses?

House of York
Henry IV (1399 - 1413)

House of Lancaster
Edward IV (1461 - 1483)