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Back in time, people used to pronounce the words the way they were written. The standardization of the English brought inevitable changes in the written language, which no longer kept up with the natural pronunciation. The Great Vowel Shift was a phenomenon that occurred between the 15th to 18th centuries. It is a massive sound change that affected the vowels in matters of pronunciation. These changes had long term implications, such as changes in orthography and spelling of the words. Also the learning of any texts written before the Great Vowel Shift became more complex because of its reading.
The Great Vowel Shift happened in eight steps. Each of these steps didn’t happened overnight, but with the years. These changes happened because of the different regions that spoke English. The pronunciation of the words was different between people of different ages. It involved a regular movement of the places of articulation. For example, the more conservative speakers were retaining the pronunciation, while the younger people were changing to a new pronunciation. This means that there was a different pronunciation for the same word depending on the region or age. The principal differences between the Middle English and the Modern English are the “long” vowels. The consonants remained generally the same, only in the r’s and the kn’s that were simplified. The “short” vowels remained very similar to those used during the Middle English Period. The "long" vowels are regularly and strikingly different. This is due to what is called The Great Vowel Shift.
“I can pronounce the word "route" to rhyme with "boot" or with "out" and may switch from one pronunciation to another in the midst of a conversation.”
Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)
Whan that April with his showres soote
The droughte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veine in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flowr;
Whan Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye
That sleepen al the night with open yë --
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages --
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seeken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Canterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martyr for to seeke
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seke.
