Development  of English Prose Upto Bacon’s Time

The English prose of Alfred’s days differs radically in its linguistic structure from the English of the 1.

4th century It has, therefore, little direct influence upon the development of the new literary prose. Alfred and his contemporaries had fashioned a prose which was wonderfully flexible. According to the nature of the subject treated it was either conversational and intimate in tone or sonorous and periodic in 

expression. The prose of the 14th century consists mostly of translation from Latin and French devotional writings and homilies. They aim more at the edification of the common people than at style. The writers had no conception of the function of the sentence This defect persisted as late as the
end of the fifteenth century. Malory’s Morted Arthurillustrates this defect, admirably. It is a quick moving narrative translated and “adopted” from the French. It reveals the author’s bold intention of fashioning a prose style from the ordinary speech of his time. Hi often achieved a striking rhythm. But it is clear that he often tried to make his sentences convey far too much. His prose is rough hewn from the common speech and has not yet developed into an art-form.