Pragmatic Aspects of Reported Speech: The Case of Early Modern English Courtroom Discourse

This book focuses on historical pragmatics. The author presents the use of reported speech in the Early Modern English records of a state trial of the Elizabethan period. It is worthy of note that the few acquitted defendants were more efficient in the application of manipulative reported speech strategies. The results of qualitative and quantitative analyses confirm that reported speech is a marker of stance.