“The greatest of all translations is the English
Bible. It is even more than that: It is the greatest English book, the first of
the English classics, the source of the greatest influences upon English
Character and speech………. It is in a singular degree, the voice of a people.”
---- George Sampson. It is needless to say that the influence of the Bible on
English literature has been immensely great and most valuable. Ever since the
publication of the first translation of the Bible by Wycliffe to the
publication of the Authorized Version in 1611, its influence on English
literature and language has been constant and steady. These productions exerted
great influence in the development of standard prose relinquishing the crude
style of the liturgical treatises. The influence of the Bible was immensely
felt in other branches of literature especially in poetry.
The Authorized
Version of the Bible was published in 1611. It was the work of forty-seven
scholars nominated by James I, over whom Bishop Lancelot Andrews presided. It
is very difficult to distinguish the influence of Authorized Bible from that of
the earlier forms yet it found a righteous conclusion of religions
controversies started in 1523 in England.
Humanism, the
product of the Renaissance and the religions Reformation came into conflict
during the mid 16th century England. The greatest advantage of this was that
they largely contributed to the development of English prose. The
controversialists wanted to reach the public and win over their sympathies. For
that purpose they had to write their pamphlets and treatise in simple English
so that it could easily be understood by the common people. That is how the
translation of the Bible into English raised the controversies and how these
controversies helped in the development of English prose. Let us now study the Biblical
influence upon the modern English as it stands now.
Proverbs
& phrases: Many
proverbs and phrases, which are in common use in modern English, are the gifts
of the Bible. Quotations from the Bible are given profusely. English language
has been enriched by the Bible so much that a proper assessment is practically
impossible. Some illustrations of Biblical phrases are given below: ‘arose as
one man’, ‘broken reed’, ‘a law unto themselves’, ‘the man of sin’, ‘moth and
rust’, ‘clear as crystal’, ‘the eleventh hour’, ‘city of refuse’, ‘whited
sepulcher’, ‘wash one’s hands off’ and many other familiar scriptural phrases
and allusions. From Tyndale we owe ‘long-suffering’, ‘peacemaker’, ‘stumbling
block’, ‘the fatted calf’, ‘filthy lucre’, ‘mercy seat’, ‘day spring’ and
‘scapegoat’. From Coverdale we have ‘tender mercy’, ‘loving-kindness’, ‘valley
of the shadow of death’, ‘avenges of blood’ etc. Many such Biblical phrases and
idioms are current in modern English without even knowing its source.
Poetry: Right from
Chaucer to the present day the influence of the Bible is clearly discernible in
poetry. Even Chaucer drew the material for some of his tales from the Bible.
Spenser’s Fairy Queen is also “steeped in the humanism of the classics
and Italian literature and it everywhere testifies to the strenuous idealism
and moral earnestness of Protestantism”. Milton’s Paradise Lost is
Biblical while the metaphysical poets were interested in Biblical allusion. In
the twentieth century the poetry of T.S.Eliot, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas is full
of the Biblical references. Technically the Biblical influence can be seen in
the use of ‘th’ such as in hath, ‘loveth’, ‘hateth’, ‘giveth’ etc in place of
‘has’, ‘haves’, ‘gives’ etc as a poetical style. Again, we find old past tenses
in ‘gat’, ‘clave’, ‘brake’ instead of got, clove, broke in poetry mastered by
Tennyson, Morris, Coleridge etc. Instead of using ‘s’ ending in verbs we have:
“He prayeth best who loveth best/All things both great and small”- Ancient
Mariners.
Superlatives,
Scriptural Proper Names:
On the analogy of the scriptural ‘holy of holies’ which contains a Hebrew
manner of expressing the superlatives, we get in modern English similar phrases
such as: In my heart of hearts, the place of all places, a friend of friends,
the pearl of pearls, a prince of princes etc.
Further
scriptural proper names are often used as appellatives to designate types of
character. As for example, ‘to raise Cain’ meaning to make a determined angry
fuss; ‘David and Jonathan’ means ‘any pair of devoted friends’.
Revival
of Some Archaic Words: Biblical
usage has revived some of the lost words into full life. Such words are like
‘damsel’ for young women, ‘raiment and apparel’ for dress, ‘firmament’, a
poetical synonym for sky’.
The modern
world has seen many changes; but it has, so far, seen no movement that has
shaken the supremacy of the greatest of English books ‘The Bible’. If ever the
Bible falls from its high sovereignty, we may be sure that the English
character has fallen with it.
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http://ardhendude.blogspot.in/2010/09/biblical-influence-on-english-language.html#sthash.wldyPuxk.dpuf
Biblical Influence on English Language
Humanism, the product of the Renaissance
and the religions Reformation came into conflict during the mid 16th
century England. The greatest advantage of this was that they largely
contributed to the development of English prose. The controversialists
wanted to reach the public and win over their sympathies. For that
purpose they had to write their pamphlets and treatise in simple English
so that it could easily be understood by the common people. That is how
the translation of the Bible into English raised the controversies and
how these controversies helped in the development of English prose. Let
us now study the Biblical influence upon the modern English as it stands now.
Proverbs & phrases: Many
proverbs and phrases, which are in common use in modern English, are
the gifts of the Bible. Quotations from the Bible are given profusely.
English language has been enriched by the Bible so much that a proper
assessment is practically impossible. Some illustrations of Biblical
phrases are given below: ‘arose as one man’, ‘broken reed’, ‘a law unto
themselves’, ‘the man of sin’, ‘moth and rust’, ‘clear as crystal’, ‘the
eleventh hour’, ‘city of refuse’, ‘whited sepulcher’, ‘wash one’s hands
off’ and many other familiar scriptural phrases and allusions.
From Tyndale we owe ‘long-suffering’, ‘peacemaker’, ‘stumbling block’,
‘the fatted calf’, ‘filthy lucre’, ‘mercy seat’, ‘day spring’ and
‘scapegoat’. From Coverdale we have ‘tender mercy’, ‘loving-kindness’,
‘valley of the shadow of death’, ‘avenges of blood’ etc. Many such
Biblical phrases and idioms are current in modern English without even
knowing its source.
Poetry: Right from Chaucer to the present day the influence of the Bible is clearly discernible in poetry. Even Chaucer drew the material for some of his tales from the Bible. Spenser’s Fairy Queen
is also “steeped in the humanism of the classics and Italian literature
and it everywhere testifies to the strenuous idealism and moral
earnestness of Protestantism”. Milton’s Paradise Lost is Biblical while the metaphysical poets were interested in Biblical allusion. In the twentieth century the poetry of T.S.Eliot, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas
is full of the Biblical references. Technically the Biblical influence
can be seen in the use of ‘th’ such as in hath, ‘loveth’, ‘hateth’,
‘giveth’ etc in place of ‘has’, ‘haves’, ‘gives’ etc as a poetical
style. Again, we find old past tenses in ‘gat’, ‘clave’, ‘brake’ instead
of got, clove, broke in poetry mastered by Tennyson, Morris, Coleridge etc. Instead of using ‘s’ ending in verbs we have: “He prayeth best who loveth best/All things both great and small”- Ancient Mariners.
Superlatives, Scriptural Proper Names:
On the analogy of the scriptural ‘holy of holies’ which contains a
Hebrew manner of expressing the superlatives, we get in modern English
similar phrases such as: In my heart of hearts, the place of all places,
a friend of friends, the pearl of pearls, a prince of princes etc.
Further scriptural proper names are
often used as appellatives to designate types of character. As for
example, ‘to raise Cain’ meaning to make a determined angry fuss; ‘David
and Jonathan’ means ‘any pair of devoted friends’.
Revival of Some Archaic Words: Biblical
usage has revived some of the lost words into full life. Such words are
like ‘damsel’ for young women, ‘raiment and apparel’ for dress,
‘firmament’, a poetical synonym for sky’.
The modern world has seen many changes;
but it has, so far, seen no movement that has shaken the supremacy of
the greatest of English books ‘The Bible’. If ever the Bible falls from
its high sovereignty, we may be sure that the English character has
fallen with it.
