“A necessary manual for those interested in the perpetuation, and the possibilities, of good English prose.”—Harper’s Magazine “[Lanham’s] style is notable for its audacity, liveliness, and grace.”—The Times Literary Supplement “The most applicably provocative book on the subject of prose style available. Imperative reading for all teachers and students of writing.”—Choice This humorous and accessible classic on style calls for the return of wordplay and delight to writing instruction. Richard Lanham argues that many tomes on writing, with their trio of platitudes—clarity, plainness, sincerity—lie “upon the spirit like wet cardboard.” "People seldom write to be clear. They have designs on their fellow men. Pure prose is as rare as pure virtue, and for the same reasons…The Books [Lanham’s term for misguided composition textbooks], written for a man and world yet unfallen, depict a ludicrous process like this: 'I have an idea. I want to present this gift to my fellow man. I fix this thought clearly in mind. I follow the rules. Out comes a prose that gift-wraps thought in transparent paper.' If this sounds like a travesty, it’s because it is one. Yet it dominates prose instruction in America."—from Chapter 1
This second edition of the classic linguistics text provides a basic descriptive terminology for prose style. What is a noun style? A verb style? A hypotactic or a paratactic one? How does the running style differ from the periodic style? What do "high, middle, and low" prose style mean? How might one apply the classical terminology of rhetorical figures to prose analysis? Analyzing Prose supplies detailed, carefully charted answers to these questions in order to teach the student of prose style how and where to begin.
We have in 'The Motives of Eloquence a significant contribution to theory, criticism, and history that graces us with the eloquence of its own motives....For comparatists of all interests and persuasions. - William J. Kennedy, 'Comparative Literature' This is a stunning book....The central thesis of 'The Motives of Eloquence' is subtle, complicated, imaginative, and bold. - Anne Barton, 'Shakespeare Quarterly In this brilliant tour de force Lanham speaks with sound and fury -- signifying everything. Though exacting and difficult, the book is well worth the effort it demands, and it succeeds admirably in providing a viable and provocative approach to reinterpreting Western literature. - William C. Johnson, 'Sixteenth Century Journal' The book offers bold and often controversial insights. Its readers will find themselves bringing significantly altered premises to much of their subsequent reading in the field. - Newsletter of the National Endowment for the Humanities A celebration of rhetoric and a challenge to all who consign consideration of style to the periphery of attention....Lanham's book represents a good place to begin, both for the student of literature and for the student of religion who wishes to review Western history in the light of its rhetorical motifs. - Thomas E. Helm, 'Journal of Religion
If economics is about the allocation of resources, then what is the most precious resource in our new information economy? Certainly not information, for we are drowning in it. No, what we are short of is the attention to make sense of that information. With all the verve and erudition that have established his earlier books as classics, Richard A. Lanham here traces our epochal move from an economy of things and objects to an economy of attention. According to Lanham, the central commodity in our new age of information is not stuff but style, for style is what competes for our attention amidst the din and deluge of new media. In such a world, intellectual property will become more central to the economy than real property, while the arts and letters will grow to be more crucial than engineering, the physical sciences, and indeed economics as conventionally practiced. For Lanham, the arts and letters are the disciplines that study how human attention is allocated and how cultural capital is created and traded. In an economy of attention, style and substance change places. The new attention economy, therefore, will anoint a new set of moguls in the business world—not the CEOs or fund managers of yesteryear, but new masters of attention with a grounding in the humanities and liberal arts. Lanham’s The Electronic Word was one of the earliest and most influential books on new electronic culture. The Economics of Attention builds on the best insights of that seminal book to map the new frontier that information technologies have created.
The personal computer has revolutionized communication, and digitized text has introduced a radically new medium of expression. Interactive, volatile, mixing word and image, the electronic word challenges our assumptions about the shape of culture itself. This highly acclaimed collection of Richard Lanham's witty, provocative, and engaging essays surveys the effects of electronic text on the arts and letters. Lanham explores how electronic text fulfills the expressive agenda of twentieth-century visual art and music, revolutionizes the curriculum, democratizes the instruments of art, and poses anew the cultural accountability of humanism itself. Persuading us with uncommon grace and power that the move from book to screen gives cause for optimism, not despair, Lanham proclaims that "electronic expression has come not to destroy the Western arts but to fulfill them." The Electronic Word is also available as a Chicago Expanded Book for your Macintosh®. This hypertext edition allows readers to move freely through the text, marking "pages," annotating passages, searching words and phrases, and immediately accessing annotations, which have been enhanced for this edition. In a special prefatory essay, Lanham introduces the features of this electronic edition and gives a vividly applied critique of this dynamic new edition.
With a unique combination of alphabetical and descriptive lists, A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms provides in one convenient, accessible volume all the rhetorical terms—mostly Greek and Latin—that students of Western literature and rhetoric are likely to come across in their reading or will find useful in their writing. The Second Edition of this widely used work offers new features that will make it even more useful: * A completely revised alphabetical listing that defines nearly 1,000 terms used by scholars of formal rhetoric from classical Greece to the present day * A revised system of cross-references between terms * Many new examples and new, extended entries for central terms * A revised Terms-by-Type listing to identify unknown terms * A new typographical design for easier access
In this exciting new book, renowned ethicist Richard Spinello offers the first comprehensive presentation of the late John Paul II's great moral vision. Here admirers may read and understand the essential teachings of the pope in his own words as Spinello draws on his extensive research into John Paul II's writings and talks. Subjects covered include reverence for life, concern for the poor and suffering, moral law, conscience, moral choice, intrinsically evil acts, freedom, and goodness. The purpose of this book is two-fold: it not only persuasively presents the late pope's vital teachings, but also defends them against his critics. This important new work preserves and promotes the extraordinary legacy of John Paul II by focusing on his championing of universal human dignity and objective moral truths.
The Un-Men are the ultimate "made freaks": stitched together from body parts and other bio-atrocities by the mad scientist and Swamp Thing's nemesis, Anton Arcane. Now, the Un-Men live in a reservation called Aberrance, transformed into a tourist destination by schemes of Un-Men Cranius and Janus Sr./Jr. When the albino FBI agent-turned-Aberrance Security Adviser Kilcrop is asked to investigate a "gaff" - a natural-born, rather than" made" freak - he can't begin to imagine he'll end up present at a birth. Particularly since the "mother" is male! Writer John Whalen (80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time) and artist Mike Hawthorne (Queen and Country) welcome you to a freaky new world! Warning: Adults Only!
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