Chapter 8. “I write not to expert practitioners, but to learners”
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Hanna Salmi
Abstract
In this chapter, I will examine metadiscursive comments on the intended audience and the accessibility of texts in early modern English printed books. This study demonstrates how different aspects of the work could be seen as increasing its suitability to a broad readership, and what strategies early modern book producers chose for marketing their works to non-specialists or readers new to the topic covered. However, many of these strategies also served the purpose of fending off potential criticism from more learned readers, who were not the intended beneficiaries of popular books. This chapter also examines the relationship between the concepts of paratextual communication and metadiscourse.
Abstract
In this chapter, I will examine metadiscursive comments on the intended audience and the accessibility of texts in early modern English printed books. This study demonstrates how different aspects of the work could be seen as increasing its suitability to a broad readership, and what strategies early modern book producers chose for marketing their works to non-specialists or readers new to the topic covered. However, many of these strategies also served the purpose of fending off potential criticism from more learned readers, who were not the intended beneficiaries of popular books. This chapter also examines the relationship between the concepts of paratextual communication and metadiscourse.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
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Part I. Conceptualisations of text and framing phenomena
- Chapter 1. Framing framing 3
- Chapter 2. On the dynamic interaction between peritext and epitext 33
- Chapter 3. The footnote in Late Modern English historiographical writing 63
- Chapter 4. Threshold-switching 91
- Chapter 5. Framing material in early literacy 115
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Part II. Framing and audience orientation
- Chapter 6. Paratext and ideology in 17th-century news genres 137
- Chapter 7. “All which I offer with my own experience” 163
- Chapter 8. “I write not to expert practitioners, but to learners” 187
- Chapter 9. Book producers’ comments on text-organisation in early 16th-century English printed paratexts 209
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Part III. Form and layout in framing
- Chapter 10. Paratextual features in 18th-century medical writing 233
- Chapter 11. Recuperating Older Scots in the early 18th century 267
- Chapter 12. Paratext, information studies, and Middle English manuscripts 289
- Index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
-
Part I. Conceptualisations of text and framing phenomena
- Chapter 1. Framing framing 3
- Chapter 2. On the dynamic interaction between peritext and epitext 33
- Chapter 3. The footnote in Late Modern English historiographical writing 63
- Chapter 4. Threshold-switching 91
- Chapter 5. Framing material in early literacy 115
-
Part II. Framing and audience orientation
- Chapter 6. Paratext and ideology in 17th-century news genres 137
- Chapter 7. “All which I offer with my own experience” 163
- Chapter 8. “I write not to expert practitioners, but to learners” 187
- Chapter 9. Book producers’ comments on text-organisation in early 16th-century English printed paratexts 209
-
Part III. Form and layout in framing
- Chapter 10. Paratextual features in 18th-century medical writing 233
- Chapter 11. Recuperating Older Scots in the early 18th century 267
- Chapter 12. Paratext, information studies, and Middle English manuscripts 289
- Index 309
