The Elements of Eloquence — Reading Notes
Words I learned and phrases I liked from Mark Forsyth's The Elements of Eloquence.
Page 15
The figures of rhetoric are the deliberate and artful ways of using language. As Mark Forsyth puts it, they are “the techniques for making a single phrase striking and memorable… not by saying something different, but by saying something in a different way.” They are the “formulas for producing great lines.”
Words I Didn’t Know
chap
A chap called George Puttenham had a bestseller in 1589 with his book on them (that’s about the year of Shakespeare’s first play).
Definition: A Man or Boy: Primarily used in British English and informal contexts, it means a fellow, guy, or friendly male.
My Example: He is my most trusted chap
I know it doesn’t sound natural.
but this is a better example:
He’s a good chap
minuscule
One minuscule part of this massive subject is the figures of rhetoric, which are the techniques for making a single phrase striking and memorable just by altering the wording.
Definition: Minuscule (adjective) means extremely small, tiny, or negligible in size or amount.
formulas
They are the formulas for producing great lines.
Definition: [to be added]
enthymemes & baculums
But it wasn’t the enthymemes or the topics or even the baculums that the English liked.
Definition: [to be added]
diacope
But most of his great and famous lines are simply examples of the ancient formulas. “I can smile, and murder while I smile” was not handed to Shakespeare by God. It’s just an example of diacope.
Definition: [to be added]
Renaissance
Context from book: [to be added]
Definition: [to be added]
solemn
Solemn fools who believe that truth is more important than beauty.
Definition: [to be added]
Phrases I Liked
Anything to do with persuasion is rhetoric, right down to the argumentum ad baculum, which means threatening somebody with a stick until they agree with you.
So Shakespeare learnt and learnt and got better and better, and his lines became more and more striking and more and more memorable. But most of his great and famous lines are simply examples of the ancient formulas.
If somebody learns how to phrase things beautifully, they might be able to persuade you of something that isn’t true. Stern people dislike rhetoric, and unfortunately it’s usually stern people who are in charge.