On eloquence
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
On eloquence
Yale University Press, c2008
- : hbk
- : pbk
Available at 3 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-189) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: hbk ISBN 9780300125412
Description
"On Eloquence" questions the common assumption that eloquence is merely a subset of rhetoric, a means toward a rhetorical end. Denis Donoghue, an eminent and prolific critic of the English language, holds that this assumption is erroneous. While rhetoric is the use of language to persuade people to do one thing rather than another, Donoghue maintains that eloquence is 'gratuitous, ideally autonomous, in speech and writing an upsurge of creative vitality for its own sake'. He offers many instances of eloquence in words, and suggests the forms our appreciation of them should take. Donoghue argues persuasively that eloquence matters, that we should indeed care about it. 'Because we should care about any instances of freedom, independence, creative force, sprezzatura', he says, 'especially when we live - perhaps this is increasingly the case - in a culture of the same, featuring official attitudes, stereotypes of the officially enforced values, sedated language, a politics of pacification'.
A noteworthy addition to Donoghue's long-term project to reclaim a disinterested appreciation of literature as literature, this volume is a wise and pleasurable meditation on eloquence, its unique ability to move or give pleasure, and its intrinsic value.
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780300158397
Description
An eloquent reminder of why we should care about-and revel in-eloquence in literature and speech
On Eloquence questions the common assumption that eloquence is merely a subset of rhetoric, a means toward a rhetorical end. Denis Donoghue, an eminent and prolific critic of the English language, holds that this assumption is erroneous. While rhetoric is the use of language to persuade people to do one thing rather than another, Donoghue maintains that eloquence is "gratuitous, ideally autonomous, in speech and writing an upsurge of creative vitality for its own sake." He offers many instances of eloquence in words, and suggests the forms our appreciation of them should take. Donoghue argues persuasively that eloquence matters, that we should indeed care about it. "Because we should care about any instances of freedom, independence, creative force, sprezzatura," he says, "especially when we live-perhaps this is increasingly the case-in a culture of the same, featuring official attitudes, stereotypes of the officially enforced values, sedated language, a politics of pacification." A noteworthy addition to Donoghue's long-term project to reclaim a disinterested appreciation of literature as literature, this volume is a wise and pleasurable meditation on eloquence, its unique ability to move or give pleasure, and its intrinsic value.
by "Nielsen BookData"