The Elements of Eloquence

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2016

The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. While this book contains material that is educational, it is presented in an entertaining style that is witty and entertaining.

This book is divided into the following 39 chapters that each describe and give examples of figures of rhetoric.
1 Alliteration: the rhetorical device of repeating the sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words.
2 Polyptoton: the use of one word as different parts of speech or in different grammatical forms.
3 Antithesis: the use of two opposites for contrasting effect.
4 Merism: 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.
5 Blazon: "extended merism, the dismemberment of the loved one".
6 Synaesthesia: a device where one sense is described in terms of another.
7 Aposiopesis: 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.
8 Hyperbaton: a figure of speech which describes an alteration of the logical order of the words in a sentence.
9 Anadiplosis: repetition of the last word of a preceding clause.
10 Periodic Sentences: are not complete grammatically before the final clause or phrase.
11 Hypotaxis and Parataxis: hypotaxis is a complex style of writing involving the use of a large number of subordinate clauses, while parataxis is the style of writing with short simple sentences.
12 Diacope: the close repetition of a word or phrase, separated by a word or words.
13 Rhetorical Questions: a device where a question is stated to make a point, without requiring any answer because it is intended to be obvious.
14 Hendiadys: a device used for emphasis, where an adjective-noun form is swapped for noun-and-noun.
15 Epistrophe: a device using the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences for emphasis.
16 Tricolon: 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: the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, for emphasis.
18 Syllepsis: 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: a "deliberate grammatical mistake".
21 Versification: the effect of a few different verse forms used, including examples of iambic pentameter.
22 Zeugma: a series of clauses which use the same verb.
23 Paradox: a statement that is logically false or impossible for emphasis or contrast.
24 Chiasmus: a symmetrical repetition of structure or wording.
25 Assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound.
26 The Fourteenth Rule: the rhetorical device of providing an unnecessarily specific number for something for emphasis.
27 Catachresis: a grammatically wrong use of words as a means of creative expression.
28 Litotes: emphasizes a point by denying the opposite.
29 Metonymy and Synecdoche: 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: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and end of a sentence or clause to emphasize 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: a hyperbole so extreme as to be a complete impossibility.
36 Prolepsis: the use of a pronoun at the start of a sentence, which reverses the normal order.
37 Congeries: a bewildering list of adjectives or nouns.
38 Scesis Onomaton: sentences without a main verb.
39 Anaphora: starting each sentence with the same word.