Modal Verbs in Marlowe and Shakespeare: A Semantic-Pragmatic Approach

Product Description


This book provides a historical insight into the use and meanings of modal verbs in the language of the Early Modern English period. It investigates how William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe employ these verbs in their tragedies and history plays dating back to the end of the 16th century. Comparative analyses add to the clarity of the book and fill a gap in the research on Marlovian language, which so far has been under-investigated in contrast to the language of William Shakespeare. The findings offered here shed light on the history of modal verbs and constitute a valuable contribution to contemporary Early Modern English studies. As such, the book represents an important resource for students, teachers, and researchers involved in the study of Early Modern English language and language change.


About the Author


Monika Skorasiska PhD, is a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Institute of English of the University of Szczecin, Poland. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland, and her research focuses on historical linguistics, particularly historical semantics, historical pragmatics, and the history of the English language. She is the author of eleven articles and chapters devoted primarily to modality and speech acts in Early Modern English language, language in the plays of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and the history of modal verbs. Her publications include Epistemic Modal Verbs in Shakespeare and Marlowe in Subjectivity and Epistemicity. Corpus, Discourse, and Literary Approaches to Stance (2014) and Can in Shakespeare and Marlowe in Studia Anglica Posnaniensia (2014).