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Chapter 2. News and relations

Highlighted textual labels in the titles of early modern news pamphlets
  • Carla Suhr
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Sociocultural Dimensions of Lexis and Text in the History of English
This chapter is in the book Sociocultural Dimensions of Lexis and Text in the History of English

Abstract

This paper is a pragma-philological examination of the textual labels and visual features in the titles and title pages of 53 early modern sensationalist news pamphlets. The analysis shows that certain textual labels are favored over others, that textual labels were not highlighted until the 1640s, and that before that time the overall visual layout of the title page was a more important genre marker than textual labels. These developments in the conventionalization of textual labels can be tied in with increasing literacy and access to printed texts of the unlearned masses that were the primary readership of these pamphlets.

Abstract

This paper is a pragma-philological examination of the textual labels and visual features in the titles and title pages of 53 early modern sensationalist news pamphlets. The analysis shows that certain textual labels are favored over others, that textual labels were not highlighted until the 1640s, and that before that time the overall visual layout of the title page was a more important genre marker than textual labels. These developments in the conventionalization of textual labels can be tied in with increasing literacy and access to printed texts of the unlearned masses that were the primary readership of these pamphlets.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part 1. Conspicuous lexical choice in past societies
  6. Chapter 1. Old English ead in Anglo-Saxon given names 15
  7. Chapter 2. News and relations 41
  8. Chapter 3. “… all spirits, and are melted into air, into thin air” 61
  9. Part 2. Historical layers in text and genre
  10. Chapter 4. Conservatism and innovation in Anglo-Saxon scribal practice 79
  11. Chapter 5. Old English wills 103
  12. Chapter 6. Spatio-temporal systems in Chaucer 125
  13. Chapter 7. “A riddle to myself I am” 151
  14. Part 3. Lexis, morphology, and a changing society
  15. Chapter 8. Common to the North of England and to New England 183
  16. Chapter 9. Betwixt, amongst , and amidst 201
  17. Chapter 10. English word clipping in a diachronic perspective 227
  18. Index 253
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.343.02suh

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part 1. Conspicuous lexical choice in past societies
  6. Chapter 1. Old English ead in Anglo-Saxon given names 15
  7. Chapter 2. News and relations 41
  8. Chapter 3. “… all spirits, and are melted into air, into thin air” 61
  9. Part 2. Historical layers in text and genre
  10. Chapter 4. Conservatism and innovation in Anglo-Saxon scribal practice 79
  11. Chapter 5. Old English wills 103
  12. Chapter 6. Spatio-temporal systems in Chaucer 125
  13. Chapter 7. “A riddle to myself I am” 151
  14. Part 3. Lexis, morphology, and a changing society
  15. Chapter 8. Common to the North of England and to New England 183
  16. Chapter 9. Betwixt, amongst , and amidst 201
  17. Chapter 10. English word clipping in a diachronic perspective 227
  18. Index 253
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