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2 ELOQUENCE: WHEN AND WHERE?

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American Eloquence
This chapter is in the book American Eloquence
Susan Sontag, a gifted writer, philosopher, and cultural commentator, once said that “it’s not ‘natural’ to speak well, eloquently, in an interesting articulate way. People living in groups, families, communes say little—have few verbalmeans. Eloquence—thinking in words—is a byproduct of solitude, deracination, a heightened painful individuality.”1 Here, Sontag oϸers a lofty, even magisterial, view of eloquence: Eloquence is rare and precious because it is rare. Meg Ryan, an actor who lives several suburbs away from the literati, takes things less seriously: “When I wear high heels I have a great vocabulary and I speak in paragraphs. I’m more eloquent. I plan to wear them more often.”2Meg-the-American: Eloquence is nice, but don’t get carried awaywith it. Former president George H. W. Bush agrees: “I may not be the most eloquent, but I learned early that eloquence won’t draw oil from the ground.”3 The children’s author E. B. White splits the diϸerence. Eloquence has its place, says White, but one must acknowledge its inϮnite variety: “A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom—he fears a drunken poet may crack a joke that will take hold.”42ELOQUENCE: WHEN AND WHERE?
© 2023 Columbia University Press

Susan Sontag, a gifted writer, philosopher, and cultural commentator, once said that “it’s not ‘natural’ to speak well, eloquently, in an interesting articulate way. People living in groups, families, communes say little—have few verbalmeans. Eloquence—thinking in words—is a byproduct of solitude, deracination, a heightened painful individuality.”1 Here, Sontag oϸers a lofty, even magisterial, view of eloquence: Eloquence is rare and precious because it is rare. Meg Ryan, an actor who lives several suburbs away from the literati, takes things less seriously: “When I wear high heels I have a great vocabulary and I speak in paragraphs. I’m more eloquent. I plan to wear them more often.”2Meg-the-American: Eloquence is nice, but don’t get carried awaywith it. Former president George H. W. Bush agrees: “I may not be the most eloquent, but I learned early that eloquence won’t draw oil from the ground.”3 The children’s author E. B. White splits the diϸerence. Eloquence has its place, says White, but one must acknowledge its inϮnite variety: “A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom—he fears a drunken poet may crack a joke that will take hold.”42ELOQUENCE: WHEN AND WHERE?
© 2023 Columbia University Press

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. 1 ELOQUENCE: WHY? 1
  4. 2 ELOQUENCE: WHEN AND WHERE? 16
  5. 3 ELOQUENCE: HOW? 36
  6. 4 CULTURAL RESONANCE 56
  7. 5 PERSONAL INVESTMENT 93
  8. 6 POETIC IMAGINATION 123
  9. 7 ELOQUENCE ASSESSED 155
  10. 8 ELOQUENCE TOMORROW 191
  11. APPENDIX “IMPORTANCE” VERSUS “ELOQUENCE” RANKINGS FOR TWENTIETH-CENTURY SPEECHES 211
  12. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 217
  13. NOTES 221
  14. INDEX 261
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https://doi.org/10.7312/hart20906-002

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. 1 ELOQUENCE: WHY? 1
  4. 2 ELOQUENCE: WHEN AND WHERE? 16
  5. 3 ELOQUENCE: HOW? 36
  6. 4 CULTURAL RESONANCE 56
  7. 5 PERSONAL INVESTMENT 93
  8. 6 POETIC IMAGINATION 123
  9. 7 ELOQUENCE ASSESSED 155
  10. 8 ELOQUENCE TOMORROW 191
  11. APPENDIX “IMPORTANCE” VERSUS “ELOQUENCE” RANKINGS FOR TWENTIETH-CENTURY SPEECHES 211
  12. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 217
  13. NOTES 221
  14. INDEX 261
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