Chris Croughton wrote:
>
> The way to get 'into' King James or earlier English is, basically, to
> read it, out loud preferably. Or, an thou likest not the Bible, there
> are more modern works which use the language correctly -- in SF/Fantasy,
> Christopher Stasheff's "Thw Warlock In Spite of Himself" and Piers
> Anthony's "Robot Adept" books both have extensive use of 'elder' Eglish,
> and both tend to cause me to speak in that manner after that I do read
> the books. There are others...
>
> Chris C
285: A clerk ther was of oxenford also,
286: That unto logyk hadde longe ygo.
287: As leene was his hors as is a rake,
288: And he nas nat right fat, I undertake,
289: But looked holwe, and therto sobrely.
290: Ful thredbare was his overeste courtepy;
291: For he hadde geten hym yet no benefice,
292: Ne was so worldly for to have office.
293: For hym was levere have at his beddes heed
294: Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,
295: Of aristotle and his philosophie,
296: Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie.
297: But al be that he was a philosophre,
298: Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
299: But al that he myghte of his freendes hente,
300: On bookes and on lernynge he it spente,
301: And bisily gan for the soules preye
302: Of hem that yaf hym wherwith to scoleye.
303: Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede,
304: Noght o word spak he moore than was neede,
305: And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
306: And short and quyk and ful of hy sentence;
307: Sownynge in moral vertu was his speche,
308: And gladly wolde he lerne and gladly teche.
Anthony and Stasheff didn't help me much here, unfortunately, although
they were both on my reading list in high school.
It took a pair of evil university professors to grind Chaucer into me.
But in the grinding, they guided me back across seven hundred odd years
of history and showed me a brother spirit there: that was a priceless
gift to a poor boy learning how to be an English teacher.
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