Rules of Use : Language at the Scene of Instruction in Early Modern England

In its readings of texts by Ascham, Puttenham, Mulcaster, and the first English dictionary writers, Rules of Use shows the way in which early modern pedagogues attempted to teach the proper use of words whilst always being mindful that proper use can neither be determined by rule, nor definitively described in examples.

We take it for granted that we can use words properly - appropriately, meaningfully, even decorously. And yet it is very difficult to define what makes a particular use "proper." Early modern pedagogy is thus shown to be embroiled in a sceptical problem: it can neither define, nor unequivocally prove the existence of the very thing it claims to be able to teach.

Each of the four chapters of Rules of Use comprises a case-study of the way early modern pedagogy became embroiled in a particular sceptical problem which was brought about by what it perceived to be its central purpose: to teach the proper use of words (where "word" can refer to poetic figures, images, genres and forms, examples, adagia, other texts, and even individual letters).