Excerpt from Representative Essays on the Theory of Style The practical object of this book is defined by the various treatises and handbooks for rhetorical study now in the field. These are (i) the many excellent text-books on the subject that have appeared in the last twenty-five or thirty years; (2) books of what is called rhetorical analysis, approaching the study of composition through examination of distinguished stylists; (3) treatises on the main types of literary method, as description, narration, exposition, and argumentation, often accompanied by pre cept and rule for the writing of themes; and (4) books of general and wholesome counsel in literary affairs. Ex cluding these classes, one has left the very numerous essays on the theory of style, and it is the chief of these in English, written by distinguished authors, that are here presented. They are selected from a contemporary rather than a historical point of view, and taken collectively, they represent the more important bearings of the subject with as little repetition and in as much variety of idea as pos sible. Newman's essay may be regarded as an introduc tion, in that it states the general problem of literature. The essays of De Quincey, Spencer, and Lewes follow, with statements of general principles and exposition of methods of a suggestive and interesting sort. Stevenson, particularly, and Pater are somewhat more confined; and Mr. Harrison's essay is an example of the safe, practical talk, the name of which is legion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.