The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase

by Mark Forsyth

Book Overview

From the #1 international bestselling author of The Etymologicon and The Horologicon comes an education in the art of articulation, from the King James Bible to Katy Perry...

From classic poetry to pop lyrics, from Charles Dickens to Dolly Parton, even from Jesus to James Bond, Mark Forsyth explains the secrets that make a phrase--such as "O Captain My Captain " or "To be or not to be"--memorable.

In his...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042527618X
• ISBN13: 9780425276181
• Release Date: October 2014
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Must for Lovers of Language

In high school, my love of language was started with an English teacher who taught us "tropes" like metonymy, synecdoche, chiasmus, etc. In other words, literary devices. I tried to find the text book she used for my own classroom, but stumbled across this lovely book instead. Not only does The Inky Fool provide concise definitions in each chapter and several examples by the likes of Shakespeare and Katie Perry, but he also writes his own examples and splashes every chapter with colorful tones of sarcasm. If you love language, love writing, and want to do better at both, this book is a must.