A.Z. Foreman | "Of Superstition" by Francis Bacon, read in Early Modern English Pronunciation @a.z.foreman74 | Uploaded 2 years ago | Updated 14 hours ago
Fun fact: If you look at the 1612 version of this essay (used in this video) and compare it with the one found in the 1625 edition of Bacon's Essays, it's interesting to note how Bacon revised it. Like he's taking care to bash not only Catholics but also the wrong sort of Protestant. Basically he made the thing more pointedly Anglican. I wonder what motivated him to do that.
For this one I used a pronunciation much like that reconstructible for Alexander Gil in his Logonomia Anglica (though with some differences, like the pronunciation of "form" mentioned below). Bacon was of the same generation as Gil, lived in London, and moved in the same social circles.
Some lexically specific pronunciation notes
Atheism, atheist: this word appears to have had a syncopated disyllabic form with the medial syllable elided. I have so pronounced it here.
Form, deform(ity): this word commonly had /u:/ in the period, and I have so pronounced it here
Hypocrite: although the spelling of the 1614 edition of Bacon's essays includes the spelling "hypocrit" I have pronounced the final syllable with the PRICE diphthong which can also be shown to have existed. I've also read the initial H as silent, as the spelling of the definite article in this edition would imply.
If you like this video and want to help me make more things like it, wherein I read texts in dead accents, consider making a pledge at my patreon.
http://patreon.com/azforeman
There you can access my recordings before I make them public, and also get access to all kinds of subscriber-only stuff like my weekly readings of Shakespeare's sonnets and the King James Bible in various 17th century accents, and you'll get advance access to my public recordings as well.
Got questions? Check my FAQ
patreon.com/posts/faq-64053058
You can follow me on twitter and tiktok @azforeman
Fun fact: If you look at the 1612 version of this essay (used in this video) and compare it with the one found in the 1625 edition of Bacon's Essays, it's interesting to note how Bacon revised it. Like he's taking care to bash not only Catholics but also the wrong sort of Protestant. Basically he made the thing more pointedly Anglican. I wonder what motivated him to do that.
For this one I used a pronunciation much like that reconstructible for Alexander Gil in his Logonomia Anglica (though with some differences, like the pronunciation of "form" mentioned below). Bacon was of the same generation as Gil, lived in London, and moved in the same social circles.
Some lexically specific pronunciation notes
Atheism, atheist: this word appears to have had a syncopated disyllabic form with the medial syllable elided. I have so pronounced it here.
Form, deform(ity): this word commonly had /u:/ in the period, and I have so pronounced it here
Hypocrite: although the spelling of the 1614 edition of Bacon's essays includes the spelling "hypocrit" I have pronounced the final syllable with the PRICE diphthong which can also be shown to have existed. I've also read the initial H as silent, as the spelling of the definite article in this edition would imply.
If you like this video and want to help me make more things like it, wherein I read texts in dead accents, consider making a pledge at my patreon.
http://patreon.com/azforeman
There you can access my recordings before I make them public, and also get access to all kinds of subscriber-only stuff like my weekly readings of Shakespeare's sonnets and the King James Bible in various 17th century accents, and you'll get advance access to my public recordings as well.
Got questions? Check my FAQ
patreon.com/posts/faq-64053058
You can follow me on twitter and tiktok @azforeman
