Modern English Language

The English language spoken and written in the 16th and 17th centuries has many names: it is variously known as Renaissance English, as the language of Tudor and Stuart England, and as Shakespeare’s English. These labels reflect the various criteria used to identify the period. This bibliography follows the common practice of referring to it as Early Modern English (1500–1700), in distinction to Middle English (c. 1150–1500) and Late Modern English (1700–1900). The Middle English period is often characterized as an era of dialects because the textual evidence that has come down to us shows extensive regional variation. In the early modern period, the language of many forms of writing converged to the extent that it could no longer be localized. Cultural historians associate this development with “modernity,” which is also reflected in regional mobility, urban as opposed to rural residence, and contact with mass media, notably through the rise of printing. More people were able to read than those who could also write at the time, but full literacy increased as the period advanced.