Richard Mulcaster's Allegory: A Humanist View of Language and State
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: Richard Mulcaster's extended allegory which recounts the development of English spelling in terms of the evolution towards the perfect state is evidence of the close identification between state and language that was prevalent in humanist circles in the late sixteenth century. It demonstrates that his originality lay not in innovative ideas but rather in the manner in which he applied to linguistic questions, concepts and precepts from the political field. Drawing on the writings of Sir Thomas Elyot and Thomas Starkey, Mulcaster develops the metaphor not only to justify his moderate approach to a spelling based on tradition and usage but also to condemn the attempts of the phonemic ref0rmers to implant a system based on sound. Finally, the allegory reveals Mulcaster to be more an advocate of a limited monarchy than his other writings would suggest.
Author: Maria O'Neill
Institution: Universitat de Lleida
Language: English
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W280642325