Chapter 3, A Muse of Fire Summary and Analysis

The achievements of the English language during the Elizabethan Age were extraordinary. Elizabeth became queen in 1558 and Shakespeare was born in 1564. James I, who had the King James Version of the Bible translated, died in 1625. Over those seventy years, the English language reached an extraordinary level of vitality. England expanded due to great changes, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the rise of England as a Navel power. The Printing Press nearly doubled the number of books in England and by 1600 nearly half of the English were minimally literate. The classics were influential as well. The scientific revolution of the Renaissance took place in part in England and new terms were introduced, such as atmosphere and skeleton. The Renaissance added over ten thousand words to the English language.

English culture in the 16th century...