This presentation encompasses invaluable impact of printing press on English language and literature.

1. Revolutionizing Words: Impact of the
Printing Press on English Literature
Prepared by: Aakash Chavda

2. Academic Details
• Presented by: Aakash Chavda
• Roll No: 1
• Semester: 1
• Paper No-105: History of English Literature - From 1350 to 1900
• Topic: Revolutionizing Words: Impact of the Printing Press on
English Literature
• Submitted To: S. B. Gardi, Department of English, MKBU.
• Email-Id: aakashchavda637@gmail.com

3. “Printing press
is the ultimate
gift of God
and the
greatest one”
- Martin Luther

4. Introduction
• Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, in the fifteenth century, an
innovation enabled people to share knowledge more quickly and
widely.
• The invention of the mechanical movable type printing press helped
disseminate information and knowledge, wider and faster than ever
before. ( Roos)
• Credit of this invention goes to German craftsman Johannes
Gutenberg, around 1450s.
• This invention enabled people to gain priceless ancient knowledge
and revolutionary ideas to every literate European, and accelerate
human progress.

5. Bi Sheng Johannes Gutenberg
Inventor of Printing Press
William Caxton
Established Printing
Press in England
Peter Schoffer
Johann Fust
Partner of Gutenberg

6. William Caxton
• William Caxton the first English printer, who, as translator and
publisher, exerted an important influence on English literature. (da
Vinci)
• In Cologne, where he lived from 1470 to the end of 1472, he
learned printing.
• He set up a press in Brugge about 1474, and the Recuyell, the first
book printed in English, was published there in 1475.
• Towards the end of 1476 he returned to England and established
his press at Westminster. (da Vinci)
• Caxton also printed nearly all the English literature of that time, The
Canterbury Tales and Le Morte d’ Arthur.

7. The Printing Revolution in Renaissance Europe
• The arrival in Europe of the printing press with moveable
metal type in 1450s, was an event which had a long-lasting
consequences.(Cartwright)
• The number of books greatly increased, their cost
diminished and so more people read than ever before.
• As scholar published their own works, commentaries on
ancient texts and criticism of each other.(Cartwright)
• Religious texts and textbooks for study had dominated the
printing presses throughout the renaissance period.
• People’s perception was started to shift, from religion to
education.

8. Printing Press and The Scientific Revolution
• The English philosopher Francis Bacon, who developed the scientific
method, wrote in 1620 that the three inventions forever changed the
course of the world were – gunpowder, nautical compass and
printing press. (Roos)
• For millennia, science was a solitary pursuit. Not only were
handwritten copies of scientific data was expensive and hard to come
by, they were also prone to human error.
• With the abilities of printing press, science took great leaps in
forward in the 16th and 17th centuries. It also helped to disseminate
the important experimental data with wide audience.
• Planetary observations of Nicolaus Copernicus are documented in his
work ‘On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres’.

9. Standardization of English Spellings
• The standardization of spellings occurred because of
printers, initially the process was slow but accelerated
with growth of the printing trade. (Howard-Hill)
• Works of orthographical reformers like, Sir Thomas Smith
& Richard Mulcaster were disseminated most widely by
the press.
• Mulcaster’s “The General Table” intended as a substantial
contribution to orthographical uniformity. (Howard-Hill)
• The most important printed works of the early 17th
century, the Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623.
• Printing press, also played crucial role in production of Dr.
Samuel Johnson’s English Dictionary in 1755, listed
approximately 40000 words in it.

10. Religious Impact
• Before printing press, only the church leaders - the Catholic
Church had access to the printed works of church. Those who
attended services never saw written word of their lord.(Graf)
• as a result, People developed the propensity to blindly believe,
the preachings of Popes and Sermons.
• Complete trust was given to the ones presenting the message, as
the masses could not see the words for themselves.
• Martin Luther’s german translation of Bible was printed using
the press, this made BIble available to all, and power shifted
from the Church to the written word and to the people. (Graf)

11. The Protestant Reformation and Printing Press
• Invention of printing press, was the crucial factor in success of
‘Protestant Reformation’ by providing the means of ‘new teachings’.
• Proto-Reformers - John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, had made many points
but lacked the means for reaching a larger audience.
• Martin Luther recognized the value of the press and exploited it
brilliantly in his challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church.
(Mark)
• “95 Theses” a pamphlet, by Martin Luther became a bestseller within a
year of its initial posting in 1517.
• Helvetic Confessions by Heinrich Bullinger and Institutes of the
Christian Religion by John Calvin, were other influential works of
Protestant theology.(Mark)
• These reformers, established the Protestant vision of Christianity ,
largely, through the power of the printing press.

12. Influential Printed Works
The Gutenberg BIble The Elementarie by Mulcaster Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

13. Legacy of Printing Press
• Those early printers had survived many difficulties, but now
printing press is considered as one of the booming industry.
(Cartwright)
• In contemporary times, a successful author could now earn a
living solely through writing.
• The legacy of printing press marked by transformative shifts in
minds of people, standardization of English spellings, making
books more accessible to a broader audience.
• The printing press transformed the production, distribution and
consumption of written texts, creating the conditions for the
emergence of modern publishing industries.

14. Conclusion
• The invention of printing press had provided means of ‘new ideas’,
and developed the thinking capacity of people in entire Europe.
• Printing press had worked as a catalyst for many literary
movements, and therefore it is the one of the significant invention
in the history of the world.

15. References
• Cartwright, Mark. “The Printing Revolution in Renaissance Europe.” World History Encyclopedia, 2 November 2020,
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1632/the-printing-revolution-in-renaissance-europe/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
• da Vinci, Leonardo. “William Caxton | Biography & Facts.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Caxton.
Accessed 9 November 2023.
• Graf, Rebecca. “Everything You Need to Know About the Printing Press.” Owlcation, 6 June 2023,
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Books-The-Printing-Press. Accessed 18 October 2023.
• Howard-Hill, T. H. “Early Modern Printers and the Standardization of English Spelling.” The Modern Language
Review, vol. 101, no. 1, 2006, pp. 16–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3738406. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023
• Mark, Joshua J. “The Printing Press & the Protestant Reformation.” World History Encyclopedia, 18 July 2022,
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2039/the-printing-press--the-protestant-reformation/. Accessed 18 October 2023.

16. • ROGERS, BRUCE. “The Project Gutenberg eBook of Printing and the Renaissance, by John Rothwell Slater.”
Project Gutenberg, 11 July 2008, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26029/26029-h/26029-h.htm. Accessed 19 October
2023.
• Roos, Dave. 7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World | HISTORY, 28 August 2019,
https://www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance. Accessed 18 October 2023.

17. Thank You