But, I really did think Beowulf was Middle English as well. We read parts of it before translation in Early English Lit, and it reminded me a lot of what I saw in Sir Gawain. Although, it was harder to understand.

And apparently I must be reading “translated” versions of Chaucer, because that was in modern English when we read it in the same Lit class. Go figure.

I’m sure by the end of the book, I’ll be able to read Middle English as well as Modern English. But, looking at it at the moment, it makes me not want to read it at all. Then again, it is my last lazy week of the year, before the semester starts. I don’t want to do anything at all that taxes my brain.

A lot of people call Shakespeare’s English “old English” (erroneously) because it sounds so strange, but that’s primarily because of the poetic voice. In fact, Shakespeare’s English was essentially modern English; linguistically, there is very little that differentiates his language from what we speak today.

As for Middle English, learning to read it will be your gateway to Chaucer, whose work is simply brilliant. I enjoyed my Chaucer class (knowing French helped).