'Who the Devil Taught Thee So Much Italian?'
Italian Language Learning and Literary Imitation in Early Modern England

This book offers a comprehensive account of the methods and practice of learning modern languages, especially Italian, in late sixteenth and early seventeenth century England.

By focusing on Shakespeare as a typical language learner of the period (one who is certainly familiar with Florio's two manuals), the book argues that the playwright develops a competent reading knowledge of Italian in the 1590s and early 1600s.

Acknowledgements Introduction 1 'Mie new London Companions for Italian and French': modern language learning in Elizabethan England Petrarch and the Italian sonnet as language-learning tools William Drummond's Italian studies 2. 'A stranger borne /To be indenized with us, and made our owne': Samuel Daniel and the naturalisation of Italian literary forms 'Delia' and the assimilation of the Italian sonnet Daniel and Italian pastoral drama 3. 'Give me the ocular proof': Shakespeare's Italian language-learning habits Shakespeare's tragicomedic dramatisations of Italian novelle
Marston's 'The Malcontent' and Guarinian tragicomedy 'Othello', Cinthio and 'Orlando furioso' Conclusion - Seventeenth-century language learning Appendix: John Wolfe's Italian publications Bibliography