The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth

However, Forsyth notes the overwhelming exception when this device is used in Monty Python's Life of Brian. Questions that are asked which a particular audience will answer in a particular way, such as 'Which party cares about what is best for Britain?' when asked by the leader of a political party at a rally of their own supporters.

Questions that have a purpose but no real answer, such as 'What's the point? Why go on?'.William Blake, And did those feet in ancient time Questions that asked but for which no answer is expected, such as:.Wording, pure wording'.Īs described by Forsyth, who admits 'how complicated this all is', rhetorical questions can be mainly divided into: The only possible explanation for the line's popularity is the way it is phrased. Forsyth says the line 'Bond, James Bond' is memorable only because of diacope, writing,: 'So just to recap, one of the greatest lines in the history of cinema is a man saying a name deliberately designed to be dull. The close repetition of a word or phrase, separated by a word or words. Paul the Apostle, Epistle to the Romans 10: Periodic Sentences Ī sentence that is not complete grammatically before the final clause or phrase, such as Rudyard Kipling's poem If- 11: Hypotaxis and Parataxis įorsyth contrasts hypotaxis, as a complex style of writing using many subordinate clauses, with parataxis, a style of writing in short, simple sentences.

The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth