The Elements of Eloquence
| Author | Mark Forsyth |
|---|---|
| Country | UK |
| Published | 2013 Icon Books Ltd |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 9781848316218 |
The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase is a non-fiction book by Mark Forsyth first published in 2013.[1][2][3] The book explains selected figures of classical rhetoric, with each chapter dedicated to a particular rhetorical figure and including famous examples of its use from literature, particularly the works of William Shakespeare. Forsyth argues that Shakespeare's genius for language did not appear out of thin air, but was the result of the careful study and practice of formal rhetorical figures of speech. As well as providing many examples from varied literary and non-literary sources, he particularly highlights the occurrence of different figures throughout Shakespeare's development as a writer.
Chapters
1: Alliteration
Alliteration is the rhetorical device of repeating the sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words. An example given by Forsyth is:
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast;
2: Polyptoton
The definition that Forsyth provides of polyptoton is that of "the use of one word as different parts of speech or in different grammatical forms". The term applies wherever words derived from the same root (such as wretched and wretchedness) are used, but other sources use the related term antanaclasis in examples when the same word is repeated but in a different sense.
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle:
I am no traitor's uncle; and that word 'grace'
In an ungracious mouth is but profane.
3: Antithesis
The figure of antithesis describes the use of two opposites for contrasting effect. The classic example quoted by Forsyth is:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
4: Merism
Merism is where a single thing is referred to by an enumeration of several of its parts, or a list of several synonyms for the same thing. Forsyth's chapter focuses on the first of these definitions and provides the following amongst various examples:
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
5: Blazon
Forsyth defines Blazon as "extended merism, the dismemberment of the loved one". The term is applied to a tradition of poetry that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate metaphors to compare them with.
6: Synaesthesia
This device is where one sense is described in terms of another. An example given by Forsyth is that of Eduard Hanslick's quoted criticism of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto as "music that stinks to the ear".
7: Aposiopesis
Aposiopesis is a figure of speech wherein a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the ending to be supplied by the imagination, giving an impression of unwillingness or inability to continue.[4]
8: Hyperbaton
This figure of speech describes an alteration of the logical order of the words in a sentence.
9: Anadiplosis
This figure describes the repetition of the last word of a preceding clause. Forsyth provides a biblical example amongst others:
We glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope, and hope maketh man not ashamed
10: Periodic Sentences
This figure describes a sentence that is not complete grammatically before the final clause or phrase.
11: Hypotaxis and Parataxis
Forsyth contrasts hypotaxis as a complex style of writing involving the use of a large number of subordinate clauses, with parataxis which describes the style of writing with short simple sentences.
12: Diacope
Diacope describes the close repetition of a word or phrase, separated by a word or words. Forsyth points to the film quote "Bond, James Bond" which he asserts is memorable not because of the name, or the scene, but simply to the use of diacope.
13: Rhetorical Questions
The rhetorical question is a device where a question is stated to make a point, without requiring any answer because it is intended to be obvious.
14: Hendiadys
This device used for emphasis, is where an adjective-noun form is swapped for noun-and-noun.
15: Epistrophe
This device is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences for emphasis.
16: Tricolon
Tricolon is where a sentence is composed of three equal parts. Forsyth points to the national motto of France (Liberté, égalité, fraternité) as one of his many examples of the impact of this device.
17: Epizeuxis
This device is describes the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, for emphasis.
18: Syllepsis
Forsyth's definition is where a single word is used with two other parts of a sentence but must be understood differently in relation to each.
19: Isocolon
Forsyth's definition seems to state that a sentence is composed by two parts equivalent in structure, length and rhythm. Other sources suggest two or more parts, and relate tricolon which is mentioned in the earlier chapter.
20: Enallage
Enallage consists of a "deliberate grammatical mistake".
21: Versification
Forsyth in this chapter discusses the effect of a few different verse forms used, including examples of iambic pentameter.
22: Zeugma
This describes, in Forsyth's definition, a series of clauses which use the same verb.
23: Paradox
The paradox is a statement that is logically false or impossible for emphasis or contrast.
24: Chiasmus
Chiasmus is a symmetrical repetition of structure or wording.
25: Assonance
This device consists of the repetition of a vowel sound.
26: The Fourteenth Rule
This chapter discusses the rhetorical device of providing an unnecessarily specific number for something for emphasis.
27: Catachresis
This device describes a grammatically wrong use of words as a means of creative expression.
28: Litotes
This device emphasises a point by denying the opposite.
29: Metonymy and Synecdoche
These devices are where something connected to the thing described, or a part of it, is used in place of the thing itself.
30: Transferred Epithets
Where an adjective is applied to the wrong noun, for effect.
31: Pleonasm
The use of superfluous and unnecessary words in a sentence for emphasis.
32: Epanalepsis
This describes the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and end of a sentence or clause to emphasise circularity.
33: Personification
A description which imputes human actions or characteristics to an inanimate or non-human thing.
34: Hyperbole
The rhetorical device of exaggeration.
35: Adynaton
This device describes a hyperbole so extreme as to be a complete impossibility.
36: Prolepsis
This device describes the use of a pronoun at the start of a sentence, which reverses the normal order.
37: Congeries
This device, Forysth defines as a bewildering list of adjectives or nouns.
38: Scesis Onomaton
Sentences without a main verb.
39: Anaphora
Forsyth defines anaphora as starting each sentence with the same words.
Critical reception
David Evans, writing in The Independent, declares it an "enjoyable, accessible book" which "explores the uses of classical rhetoric".[1] Christopher Howse in The Spectator criticises some wrongly attributed quotes and mistakes in the book but declares the author "well informed and amusing" and that the book deserves "many future printings".[2] The Wall Street Journal review finds Forsyth is "adept at adding spice to received wisdom and popularizing the findings of academic linguists" and he "handsomely" drives home the point that "potent rhetorical devices are all around us".[5]
References
- 1 2 Evans, David (14 September 2014). "Paperback reviews". The Independent. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- 1 2 Howse, Christopher (30 November 2013). "What's notable about 'a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife'?". The Spectator. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ "From Dickens to Perry: The art of speaking eloquently". BBC News. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ Lanham, Richard A. (1991). A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. Berkeley / Los Angeles / London: University of California Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-520-07669-9.
- ↑ Hitchings, Henry (30 October 2014). "Recipes for Killer One-Liners". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 November 2014.