Edwin Yogi Andrean

2211412022
Mid-term History of The English Language and Culture

Middle English Period vs. Early Modern English Period

The history of the English language has traditionally been divided into three main
periods: Old English (450-1100 AD), Middle English (1100-circa 1500 AD) and Modern English
(since 1500). Over the centuries, the English language has been influenced by a number of other
languages. The Early Modern English period is regarded by many scholars as beginning about
1500 and terminating with the return of the monarchy in 1660. The three outstanding
developments of the 15th century were the rise of London English, the invention of printing, and
the spread of the new learning. Each of those period have their own characteristics, it is
commonly differs from one another. To fulfilling the analysis the writer will discuss two poems
from the different period. The work of Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 13401400) who lived in the Middle
English period entitled Canterbury Tales will be compared to I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) that comes from the Early Modern English period. The aim of
this essay is to exanimate the difference in the determined period.
The language and literature of Middle English is marked by increasing influence from
Europe, particularly from France, due to the arrival of the Norman ruling class at the end of the
11th century. Norman-French culture suppressed the native English one. At that time the average
person spoke Old English, while the upper classes spoke Norman French. This blend of Norman
French and Old English brought distinct changes to the language that we now refer to as Middle
English. Major writers in English during this period include Geoffrey Chaucer and William
Langland, but much of the poetry, prose, and drama of the period were anonymous. The Middle
English literary culture was mostly an oral one, and literacy levels were still low at this time.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, between 1340 and 1344 to John Chaucer and
Agnes Copton. The Canterbury Tales included as one of the greatest poetic works in English. He
also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public
affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil servant. The Canterbury Tales consists of the stories
related by the 29 pilgrims on their way to Saint Thomas Beckets shrine in Canterbury. Harry

Edwin Yogi Andrean

2211412022
Mid-term History of The English Language and Culture
Bailey, the Host, had proposed a scheme in the General Prologue whereby each pilgrim was to
narrate two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more while returning. In the course of the
journey the Canon and his Yeoman join the pilgrims. However The Canterbury Tales are
incomplete. There should have been a hundred and twenty tales in all according to the original
plan but Chaucer only completed twenty-three tales. The Canterbury Tales ends with Chaucers
Retractions where he renounces all his secular works including those tales of Canterbury that are
immoral. This poem represents the English society of the fourteenth century. All the three
fundamental class of medieval society have their own representation in the portraits of
characterization -- the Knighthood, the spiritual clergy and the toiling agricultural classes. In the
Middle English with its Great Vowel Shift, the long vowels were generally pronounced very
much like the Latin-derived Romance languages of Europe for example sheep would have been
pronounced more like shape; me as may; mine as meen, and so on.
The early modern English period follows the Middle English period towards the end of
the fifteenth century and coincides closely with the Tudor (14851603) and Stuart (1603-1714)
dynasties. The battle of Bosworth (1485) marked the end of the long period of civil war known
as the Wars of the Roses and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty under Henry VII (1485
1509), which brought a greater degree of stable centralized government to England. Not long
before, the introduction of the craft of printing in 1476 by William Caxton marked a new
departure in the dissemination of the written word. Romanticism is one of the eras that belong to
the Middle English period. It was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated
in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the
approximate period from 1800 to 1850.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is one of the example of poems which representing
Romanticism era in the 19th century in British written by Wordsworth. He was born on 7 April
1770 in Cockermouth, part of the scenic region in northwest England. Most of works in this
period put the imagination as priority in writing poems. When we read this poem, we can
imagine a vivid fascinating picture of nature which shows the beauty of golden daffodils that the

Edwin Yogi Andrean

2211412022
Mid-term History of The English Language and Culture
writer sees by chance when wandering lonely as a cloud. Under his eyes, the daffodils is
fluttering and dancing in the breeze beside a lake. He compares it with twinkling stars on the
Milky Way and imagines that these flowers stretch in endless horizon. However, he gazes such a
beautiful scene for a long time but cannot think what wealth it brings to him. In other words, at
that moment, the wonderful sight doesn't make him excited enough to write the poem.
Afterwards, when being alone, the writer sees the golden flowers flashing in his inward eyes, and
feels that his heart is full of pleasure. It is this feeling that helps him to create the work. In this
poem, daffodil became the origin of important word chosen to tell the readers that the speakers
loneliness was replaced by joy after he looked at the daffodil. Wordsworth received the images of
life and then he recollects and uses poetic words to highlight and praise the nature -- the
daffodils. This poem uses figures of speech such as: metaphor, personification, and comparison
to make the poem more interesting as in: "fluttering and dancing on the breeze", then "
tossing their heads in sprightly dance" or "as the stars that shine".
In conclusion, each poet has already showed their best in creating a masterpiece of its
own period. By getting influenced by their era, it doesnt mean they cant reveal what was on
their mind and heart into a work. Indeed, they have very unique and special characteristics to
reveal their feeling. We can conclude that those two poems describe about different themes. The
main characteristics of Chaucers works are their variety in subject matter, genre, tone, and style
and in the complexities presented concerning the human pursuit of a sensible existence. His
works regularly lead the reader speculation about mans relation both to his fellows and to his
God, while simultaneously providing delightfully entertaining views of the weakness, as well as
the nobility of mankind. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud appears in the Middle English Period in
Romanticism era where beauty is more appreciated, and imagination is the main key of it.
Wordsworth reveals a new way of appreciating beauty of nature through making it into creative
works of poems. The subject of his poem is the description of the nature beauty and the theme of
the poem is the writer's thought when in pensive mood. The difference does not intent to make a
competition between the two, but it will make the two beautiful because of its diversity.