The elements of eloquence
by Mark Forsyth · first published 2013
29% recommend71% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Light, enjoyable tour of rhetorical figures and the patterns in English phrases; practical for improving your own writing and useful alongside guides like Zinsser's.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 inimitably entertaining and wonderfully witty style, he takes apart famous phrases and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare or quip like Oscar Wilde. Whether you're aiming to achieve literary immortality or just hoping to deliver the perfect one-liner, The Elements of Eloquence proves that you don't need to have anything important to say--you simply need t
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…"How to write well". It's a very practical classic that improved my writing by a factor of two or more after one reading, and I found it enjoyable enough to read it more than once. * Mark Forsyth "The Elements of Eloquence". Also highly enjoyable while remaining very practical (it also took several readings to remember a lot of the points he made, but it's reasonably short and each of the many sections are independent,…
on “Ask HN: How can I become more eloquent?” ↗Alchemy - Rory Sutherland. Written by an advertising executive, it's filled with little gems, especially about signaling. Honorable mention to The Elements of Eloquence - Mark Forsyth, which is a delightfully light read about the patterns in English phrases, but I finished it 2 days before the start of 2020.
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?” ↗Mark Forsyth's Elements of Eloquence uses exactly this example for alliteration, the resemblance between your comment and what he wrote is uncanny. >:( > “The thing about this is that it’s definitely half stolen. There is no possible way…
on “Shakespeare's language not as original as dictionaries think” ↗You're talking about ordering among adjectives, which is unrelated to pronouns. > The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth. "Adjectives absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a lovely little old…
on “Stop defacing quotes with brackets” ↗…Iggulden: Conqueror Series Book 4: Khan: Empire of Silver 59. Conn Iggulden: Conqueror Series Book 5: Conqueror 60. Prof. Robert Hazen: Origin and Evolution of Earth [great courses] 61. Mark Forsyth: Elements of Eloquence 62. Prof. Patrick Allitt: Industrial Revolution [great courses] 63. Ramesh Menon (Valmiki): Ramayana 64. Prof. John McWhorter: Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths of Language Usage [great courses] 65. Dava…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗The Elements of Eloquence, 2013, Mark Forsyth https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Eloquence
on “Ask HN: Strategies for Being More Eloquent?” ↗Native speaker. I don't think it's truly "official" and it's not typically formally taught. "Elements of Eloquence" by Mark Forsyth is frequently cited as an early source of the "rule". IMHO It seems to be more of an organic property of the language. there's lots of articles on it. like this one https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/597981/adjective-order-g...…
on “Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon” ↗