---
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title: "The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase"
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# 4.6/5 from 1,600+ reviews Top-ranked language reference Next-day UK dispatch The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase

**Price:** € 17.51
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## Summary

> 📖 Elevate your eloquence—because your words deserve to be unforgettable.

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- **What is this?** The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase
- **How much does it cost?** € 17.51 with free shipping
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## Key Features

- • **Next-Day UK Dispatch:** Get your copy fast with reliable next working day delivery from our UK warehouse.
- • **Elevate Your Writing IQ:** Discover and name rhetorical devices you’ve unknowingly used, from tricolon to scesis onomaton.
- • **Join a Thriving Community:** Join 1,600+ readers who rated this book 4.6 stars for its wit, insight, and practical value.
- • **From Classroom to Boardroom:** Perfect for professionals aiming to sharpen communication skills and stand out in any conversation.
- • **Master the Art of Persuasion:** Unlock the secrets behind memorable phrases used by Shakespeare, Dickens, and modern icons.

## Overview

The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth is a UK-edition bestseller ranked #2 in Language References, offering a witty, educational dive into rhetorical techniques that make English phrases memorable. With next-day UK dispatch and over 1,600 positive reviews averaging 4.6 stars, this book is a must-have for professionals and language enthusiasts eager to master the craft of persuasive writing and speaking.

## Description

Buy The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase UK ed. by Forsyth, Mark (ISBN: 9781785781728) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

Review: Wonderfully eloquent - This truly is a beautifully written book which is not only entertaining to read, thanks to Forsyth's innate humour, but is also vastly educational. It's cleverly put together, with each 'chapter' covering a particular technique linked to the next, and every section is peppered with examples from a wide range of literature, media and political speeches. There are common techniques which anyone who's sat through GCSE English lessons will know, such as alliteration, however there are dealt with in such detail and with such well put together explanations that they still offer something new. Then there are techniques which many readers will already know but just won't have names for them - I know the rule of three but had never heard it was called a 'tricolon'. Or I already knew repetition can work brilliantly, but I had no idea that if you start sentences using repetition, it's known as prolepsis. Naturally, there are also techniques which are entirely new to me, such as the gorgeously named 'scesis onomaton' (if you want to know what this is, then think about the dead parrot speech from Monty Python). If you want to become a more knowledgeable reader or a better writer or appreciate good prose or like a good laugh then buy this book. I'll certainly be buying more of Forsyth's books in the future.
Review: A brilliant must-read for anyone interested in writing and the power of language - This is perhaps the most entertaining book about the English language I have read this year. I added the qualifier ‘perhaps’ because I am currently reading his book The Etymologicon which might eclipse Elements of Eloquence in terms of entertainment. Elements explains why great writers (of speeches, poetry, songs, advertising copy and so on) use certain phrasing to make what they have said more memorable than writing without knowledge of what makes things ‘pop’. Forsyth provides his definitions of each of the ‘figures’ of rhetoric and is quite candid that there is a lot of disagreement among scholars about these definitions. He provides the definition which he thinks makes the most sense and has the support of the majority, and provides excellent and entertaining examples of their employment. Some of the figures are in common use and I, a humble ‘self-taught’ writer, like a lot of people manage to use some of them without really thinking about it. For example I am an ardent admirer of alliteration – often employing it to the edge of overuse. I also use tricolon a lot – if only from listening to Del la Soul repeatedly enforcing the coda that three is the magic number. There’s a few others (personification was obviously part of my ‘O’ level education in terms of how they relate to simile and metaphor and allegory) but I have to agree that I have been ‘baking blindfolded’ as Forsyth puts it – sometimes I luck out and write a catchy sentence but most times not so much. Since reading the book I have been keeping an ear out for the use of these figures when listening to film dialogue and of course songs which are as close as I get to reading poetry – lyrics are full of assonance, alliteration, isocolons, anaphora, diacope, smatterings of epanalepsis and lots of other things I have already unfortunately forgotten the names for, and the lines in films are generally memorable because of the use of one figure or more. A great example recently is “if we burn, you burn with us!” I think Forsyth’s main point is that great writers such as Shakespeare and Dickens were not necessarily happy to settle on using the talents they were born with but in practicing their craft and learning how to employ the figures to great effect. He bemoans the usual edict to ‘delete unnecessary words’ that a lot of modern writers follow and this is something I will ponder as I write. It is obviously a matter of personal choice or taste when and when not to be succinct or meander into the realms of pleonasm. Finally it was great to finally find out what the iambic pentameter was and also read about all the other meters that are out there in the wondrous worlds of poetry and prose in Forsyth’s divagation concerning versification. When I have written poems in the past I have always looked at how many syllables each line contained and then struggled to make sense of the flow (or meter!) when what I should have been looking for was in fact something called ‘feet’ (of which there are four types including the iamb) to then fit to a consistent meter line by line. The iamb is a te-TUM and if you put five in a row then you get the iambic pentameter te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM. Simples! And much used by Shakespeare – perhaps something I was taught and have since forgotten. Anyway thanks goes to the @inkyfool Mark Forysth for running me through it!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | 1785781723 |
| Best Sellers Rank | 44,545 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 2 in Language References |
| Customer reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,610) |
| Dimensions  | 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm |
| Edition  | UK ed. |
| ISBN-10  | 9781785781728 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1785781728 |
| Item weight  | 197 g |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 208 pages |
| Publication date  | 3 Nov. 2016 |
| Publisher  | Icon Books |

## Images

![The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61w6qwGuq1L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderfully eloquent
*by H***K on 21 April 2014*

This truly is a beautifully written book which is not only entertaining to read, thanks to Forsyth's innate humour, but is also vastly educational. It's cleverly put together, with each 'chapter' covering a particular technique linked to the next, and every section is peppered with examples from a wide range of literature, media and political speeches. There are common techniques which anyone who's sat through GCSE English lessons will know, such as alliteration, however there are dealt with in such detail and with such well put together explanations that they still offer something new. Then there are techniques which many readers will already know but just won't have names for them - I know the rule of three but had never heard it was called a 'tricolon'. Or I already knew repetition can work brilliantly, but I had no idea that if you start sentences using repetition, it's known as prolepsis. Naturally, there are also techniques which are entirely new to me, such as the gorgeously named 'scesis onomaton' (if you want to know what this is, then think about the dead parrot speech from Monty Python). If you want to become a more knowledgeable reader or a better writer or appreciate good prose or like a good laugh then buy this book. I'll certainly be buying more of Forsyth's books in the future.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A brilliant must-read for anyone interested in writing and the power of language
*by M***S on 17 April 2015*

This is perhaps the most entertaining book about the English language I have read this year. I added the qualifier ‘perhaps’ because I am currently reading his book The Etymologicon which might eclipse Elements of Eloquence in terms of entertainment. Elements explains why great writers (of speeches, poetry, songs, advertising copy and so on) use certain phrasing to make what they have said more memorable than writing without knowledge of what makes things ‘pop’. Forsyth provides his definitions of each of the ‘figures’ of rhetoric and is quite candid that there is a lot of disagreement among scholars about these definitions. He provides the definition which he thinks makes the most sense and has the support of the majority, and provides excellent and entertaining examples of their employment. Some of the figures are in common use and I, a humble ‘self-taught’ writer, like a lot of people manage to use some of them without really thinking about it. For example I am an ardent admirer of alliteration – often employing it to the edge of overuse. I also use tricolon a lot – if only from listening to Del la Soul repeatedly enforcing the coda that three is the magic number. There’s a few others (personification was obviously part of my ‘O’ level education in terms of how they relate to simile and metaphor and allegory) but I have to agree that I have been ‘baking blindfolded’ as Forsyth puts it – sometimes I luck out and write a catchy sentence but most times not so much. Since reading the book I have been keeping an ear out for the use of these figures when listening to film dialogue and of course songs which are as close as I get to reading poetry – lyrics are full of assonance, alliteration, isocolons, anaphora, diacope, smatterings of epanalepsis and lots of other things I have already unfortunately forgotten the names for, and the lines in films are generally memorable because of the use of one figure or more. A great example recently is “if we burn, you burn with us!” I think Forsyth’s main point is that great writers such as Shakespeare and Dickens were not necessarily happy to settle on using the talents they were born with but in practicing their craft and learning how to employ the figures to great effect. He bemoans the usual edict to ‘delete unnecessary words’ that a lot of modern writers follow and this is something I will ponder as I write. It is obviously a matter of personal choice or taste when and when not to be succinct or meander into the realms of pleonasm. Finally it was great to finally find out what the iambic pentameter was and also read about all the other meters that are out there in the wondrous worlds of poetry and prose in Forsyth’s divagation concerning versification. When I have written poems in the past I have always looked at how many syllables each line contained and then struggled to make sense of the flow (or meter!) when what I should have been looking for was in fact something called ‘feet’ (of which there are four types including the iamb) to then fit to a consistent meter line by line. The iamb is a te-TUM and if you put five in a row then you get the iambic pentameter te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM- te-TUM. Simples! And much used by Shakespeare – perhaps something I was taught and have since forgotten. Anyway thanks goes to the @inkyfool Mark Forysth for running me through it!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ smart
*by P***K on 2 July 2023*

A smart book, about rhetoric (nice on the classical definitions etc), and the literary uses we put them to. It's amusing and neatly written (as it should be, about this topic). Lots of small effects I'd not thought much about before plus some extracts I'd not come acosss. Good stuff!

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase
- Icon Books The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

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*Last updated: 2026-03-01*