On Eloquence Denis Donoghue

On Eloquence questions the common assumption that eloquence is merely a sub-set 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.

Denis Donoghue is University Professor and Henry James Chair of English and American Letters at New York University. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, the New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, the Times Literary Supplement, and many other periodicals.

"Donoghue is a formidably gifted critic whose range of reference is truly impressive." Peter Brooks, New York Times Book Review "In this book, Donoghue continues his case for reading for aesthetic pleasure rather than to have our political values endorsed or abused. This is an argument that needs to be made, and it is all the more crucial that a critic of Donoghue's stature make it." David Rosen, Trinity College"