Is the language of Foxe still compelling today?
Language is a complex, fluid concept. Even though there will always be base rules in place, language will always change with time. In the case of the English language, it has evolved to favor shortening words to convey the same meaning in less time. Foxe would use words like “thereunto”, “dwelleth”, “benumbed”, and so forth. By their appearance alone, you can conclude that these are not words you’ll be hearing in a modern conversation.
The entirety of Foxe’s story is riddled with these words. The book was released in 1563, it’s expected that it would be written with these words, as these words were commonly used during this time period. However, when writing for a specific time period, you have almost guaranteed that your work will expire with time. Modern day students may have trouble comprehending this work due to the outdated language it uses. Thanks to the fluidity of language, most of these words are unheard of, as they’ve been replaced with quicker, shorter words that mean the same thing.
So, no. I don’t believe that the language Foxe used would be compelling to the modern reader. The effort of having to learn a new vocabulary just to read a book isn’t appealing to most people, so they would just rather read something else.
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