In
Shakespeare’s Language
, Keith Johnson offers an overview of the rich and dynamic history of the reception and study of Shakespeare’s language from his death right up to the present. Tracing a chronological history of Shakespeare’s language, Keith Johnson also picks up on classic and contemporary themes, such as:
lexical and digital studies
original pronunciation
rhetoric
grammar.
The historical approach provides a comprehensive overview, plotting the attitudes towards Shakespeare’s language, as well as a history of its study. This approach reveals how different cultural and literary trends have moulded these attitudes and reflects changing linguistic climates; the book also includes a chapter that looks to the future.
is therefore not only an essential guide to the language of Shakespeare, but it offers crucial insights to broader approaches to language as a whole.