Program Description

Join Melvyn Bragg and a host of experts as they explore the vibrant 1,500-year history of the English language.

How did it grow from a relatively insignificant Germanic dialect to become the premier language of culture, commerce, and diplomacy around the globe? The answer involves bloody conquest, political intrigue, and plenty of creativity.

Renowned authorities such as Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, cofounder of the Royal Shakespeare Company John Barton, and Elizabethan scholar Katherine Duncan-Jones explain the development of English in entertaining detail. In this fascinating, eight-part documentary, Bragg and his colleagues examine the life of the language, showing how diverse forces–from Beowulf to the Bible, from Shakespeare to American slang–shaped the way we communicate today.

A prolific author, screenwriter, and broadcaster, Melvyn Bragg serves as president of Great Britain's National Campaign for the Arts and chair of the Arts Council Literature Panel. He has hosted The South Bank Show, Britain's leading arts program, for over 30 years

BONUS FEATURES

• Guide for group discussion
• Avenues for further learning
• "Vocabulary of Verse & Stage"
• History of the RSC
• And much more