 Hello. This unit provides an overview of the period between 1500 and 1700. It mainly serves as a preparation for more detailed linguistic aspects to be dealt with in further e-learning units about early modern English. In the virtual session where you can use the question sheet as default guidance, we will discuss the main historical events of that time, from the invention of printing to the beginning of colonization. We will look at William Shakespeare's role in early modern English and will mention some linguistic milestones that shaped this period. The mastery worksheet is a dynamic multiple-choice test with general questions about the early modern English period. And the practical uses two of Shakespeare's sonnets in order to find out as many as possible differences between early modern English and present-day English. In summary, this unit provides the background for more detailed discussions of the linguistic developments between 1500 and 1700.