Gwybodaeth Modiwlau

This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the beginnings and developments of the English language. This will be achieved through an exploration of theories of language change, an introduction to key events from English history between the arrival of the first Anglo-Saxons and the Great Vowel Shift in the early modern period. Examples from literary history will be utilised to enhance students’ awareness of the relevance of language change for their pursuit of literary studies over the course of their degree.

This module explores the beginnings and developments of the English language from the early medieval period through the age of Shakespeare. Students will study different approaches to the study of language change and explore the implications of key historical events and cultural developments between the arrival of the first Anglo-Saxons in Britain during the 5th century AD and the age of Shakespeare in the 16th and 17th centuries. Throughout the module, selected key texts from English literary history, from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle via Beowulf, medieval lyrics, The Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s sonnets to John Donne’s poetry will be used to trace language change from Old English via Middle English to Early Modern English. This engagement with language through time will further develop students’ understanding of literature and the study of literature in history. It will be helpful for students who will be studying EN10220 (Ancestral Voices) and EN31320 (In the Olde Dayes: Medieval Texts and their World).