ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the work of William Shakespeare and on the King James Version of the Bible to show how early Modern English had become, by the early seventeenth century, a medium of imaginative and religious discourse. Shakespeare coined and borrowed words, and his drama and poetry often have a self-consciousness about their own linguistic innovation. The chapter looks, too, at how influential Shakespeare has been on the development of Modern English. In studying the King James Version of the Bible, the chapter illustrates the deliberate archaism of the English translators, while also pointing to the influence of this translation on later public and private vernacular discourse.
