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tyunglebower 's review for:
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric
by Ward Farnsworth
This was an informative, useful and at times fun to read intermediate level reference on English Rhetoric. Every writer at some point should pick up a copy.
It is not something to read in one sitting, nor is it something to read only once, as there is a lot of sometimes complex information packed into this small volume. But as something to refer to, and re-read in pieces over time, it presents with quite the value for the wordsmith.
It introduced me to some writers and speakers I otherwise might not have encountered, but whom now I will at least investigate further. (If for no other reasons then to read the rest of the speeches from which the excellent examples are drawn.)
That being said, I found it to at times be a bit thick, repetitive beyond what was required to make the point, and unnecessarily convoluted when presenting examples that bore little difference from the wealth of examples already provided.
To the uninitiated, the author complicates the issues by explaining a concept, supplying plentiful examples, and then sub-categorizing to such a degree that what would otherwise have been a simple concept takes on the appearance of being rather complex.
For example, if a recipe book were to be laid out in a similar fashion, the text would define salad, explain how to create same, proceed to elaborate on different types of salad, as well as with what other foods they may be safely paired. Not enough for some, more than is needed for others, but a logical amount of information for most. Using such a book would explain the nature of say, a Caesar salad. The reader could probably assume that certain salads would proceed to fall under this umbrella.
Yet to extend this metaphor, the book at times would use long lists to distinguish a Caesar salad served in a wooden bowl, from a Caesar salad served in a glass bowl. And than one served in a plastic bowl. And finally, one served on a plate instead of a bowl, (a plate which could also be wooden, glass, or plastic.)
In every case above, the salad itself is unchanged. It is merely served in different receptacles. While a valid technical difference does exist, are four more pages of such elaboration really making the concept of a Caesar salad any clearer to the reader? I would suggest they do not, and at times initial clarity becomes muddied with so much specificity.
However on the whole, a treasure for language enthusiasts. I will be reading it again in pieces for years to come, and applying its lessons to my own writing and speaking. (Some of which I already recognized in the definitions given in the book. Another of its strengths being to define what is already familiar to us, subconsciously.)
It is not something to read in one sitting, nor is it something to read only once, as there is a lot of sometimes complex information packed into this small volume. But as something to refer to, and re-read in pieces over time, it presents with quite the value for the wordsmith.
It introduced me to some writers and speakers I otherwise might not have encountered, but whom now I will at least investigate further. (If for no other reasons then to read the rest of the speeches from which the excellent examples are drawn.)
That being said, I found it to at times be a bit thick, repetitive beyond what was required to make the point, and unnecessarily convoluted when presenting examples that bore little difference from the wealth of examples already provided.
To the uninitiated, the author complicates the issues by explaining a concept, supplying plentiful examples, and then sub-categorizing to such a degree that what would otherwise have been a simple concept takes on the appearance of being rather complex.
For example, if a recipe book were to be laid out in a similar fashion, the text would define salad, explain how to create same, proceed to elaborate on different types of salad, as well as with what other foods they may be safely paired. Not enough for some, more than is needed for others, but a logical amount of information for most. Using such a book would explain the nature of say, a Caesar salad. The reader could probably assume that certain salads would proceed to fall under this umbrella.
Yet to extend this metaphor, the book at times would use long lists to distinguish a Caesar salad served in a wooden bowl, from a Caesar salad served in a glass bowl. And than one served in a plastic bowl. And finally, one served on a plate instead of a bowl, (a plate which could also be wooden, glass, or plastic.)
In every case above, the salad itself is unchanged. It is merely served in different receptacles. While a valid technical difference does exist, are four more pages of such elaboration really making the concept of a Caesar salad any clearer to the reader? I would suggest they do not, and at times initial clarity becomes muddied with so much specificity.
However on the whole, a treasure for language enthusiasts. I will be reading it again in pieces for years to come, and applying its lessons to my own writing and speaking. (Some of which I already recognized in the definitions given in the book. Another of its strengths being to define what is already familiar to us, subconsciously.)