Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric

Ward Farnsworth

4.12

423 ratings by Goodreads

9781455123940: Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric

ISBN 10: 1455123943 ISBN 13: 9781455123940

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc., 2011

[This is the MP3CD audiobook format.]

Masters of language can turn unassuming words into phrases that are beautiful, effective, and memorable. What are the secrets of this alchemy? Part of the answer lies in rhetorical figures: practical ways of applying great aesthetic principles--repetition and variety, suspense and relief, concealment and surprise--to a simple sentence or paragraph.

Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric recovers this knowledge for our times. It amounts to a tutorial on eloquence conducted by Churchill and Lincoln, Dickens and Melville, Burke and Paine, and more than a hundred others. The book organizes a vast range of examples from those sources into eighteen chapters that illustrate and analyze the most valuable rhetorical devices with unprecedented clarity. The result is an indispensable source of pleasure and instruction for all lovers of the English language.

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From the Back Cover:

Advance Praise for Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric:

Not only educational but delightful.
- David Mamet

I must refrain from shouting what a brilliant work this is (pr�teritio). Farnsworth has written the book as he ought to have written it - and as only he could have written it (symploce). Buy it and read it - buy it and read it (epimone).
- Bryan A. Garner, author of The Elements of Legal Style

Many things, from dictators to advertising, have made modern people suspicious of and cynical about language mobilized to move us. Fortunately, Ward Farnsworth's delightful swim in a sea of well-chosen words should help to rehabilitate the reputation of rhetoric.
- George F. Will, syndicated columnist
Every writer should have this book.
- Erin McKean, editor of Verbatim: The Language Quarterly
Ward Farnsworth's invaluable review of classical English rhetoric is not only a vital tool for aiding clear expression, but a timely reminder that, despite the confusion of the present technological age, human nature, and our ability to communicate in clear and often beautiful ways, are unchanging.
- Victor Davis Hanson, co-author of Who Killed Homer?: The Demise of Classical Education & the Recovery of Greek Wisdom

About the Author:

WARD FARNSWORTH is professor of law and the Nancy Barton Scholar at Boston University School of Law.

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