Some of you may already know my position on Prologues, that there is no place for them in fantasy fiction. But, I do think a good epigraph sets the mood without intruding on good storytelling. The epigraph to my WIP is... True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings.— ShakespeareThe title of the book in progress is Killing Swallows. The epigraph is used as a counter-example. One of my all time favorites is... Lawyers, I suppose, were children once. — Charles Lamb, the epigraph that precedes, To Kill a Mockingbird. Do any of you use an epigraph to set your story in motion?.. what are some of the best ones you've come across.
I like your epigraph. I can see how it would make a great intro and epitomization to your story. I don't use epigraphs myself, but I enjoy reading them. My favorite sayings are from scientists and humorists. Neil Degrasse Tyson said, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Carl Sagan said, "Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." A good epigraph guides me to exploring further the writings of the author who said it. So keep them coming.
I do use an Epigraph in Nerium, She sings a song to you that you alone can hear. - Elizabeth Cooper's “The Bedouin Song of Songs.”
One writer who used those sort of quotes as introduction to chapters, was Frank Herbert. He would mix in some real historical quotes with the fictional ones. As my WIP has an illustration accompanying each chapter it gives me a chance to quote some of my favorite historical figures, and use it as a caption under the artwork. A person whose very suitable for quoting is Erasmus Darwin. One of his grandsons was none other than... Charles Darwin! Not only do I use a quote from Erasmus for a caption, but the first line of the story has one of the protagonists reading 'Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life'... writer by Erasmus Darwin! “Such is the condition of organic life — whose first law might be expressed in the words ‘Eat or be eaten!’, and which would seem to be one great slaughter- house, one universal scene of rapacity and injustice.” - Erasmus Darwin
What I do like about epigraphs, especially the ones quoting more obscure personalities... is that I google it and find out more about the person.
Guardian, you make me laugh some days with your honest and simple questions. An Epigraph is a quote that a that occurs before the main text of a poem or story that either informs the reader of the theme of the story or sets the tone.
Don't feel bad... I was well aware of epigraphs, but didn't actually know the technical term for them until very recently, like last month! An epigraph can be an inscription on a building, at the base of a statue, as well as introducing a reader to your story. Sort of like an epitaph on a tombstone.
In all seriousness, this topic has inspired me to think about what would make a good epigraph for my WIP novel. It’s sci-fi and based on ideas around probabilities and determinism. A quick search has revealed this gem, which sets the tone perfectly: “We must believe in free will — we have no choice”–Isaac Bashevis Singer Alternatively: “Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should”–Max Ehrmann
[QUOTE="mashers, post: 1580803, member: 76569 “Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should”–Max Ehrmann[/QUOTE] Famously re-quoted by our fearless Canadian leader Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Properly used, epigraphs can be wonderful. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson, is opened by a quote from Samuel Johnson: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." It sets the tone for the whole book. One of the chapters of Gravity's Rainbow, on the other hand, has "What?," attributed to Richard Nixon. Since the book is pretty absurdist, that fits well also. My favorite epigraph, however, is from a book I don't remember. I think it was The Wolves of Memory, by George Alec Effinger. He quotes an entire chapter (some of the chapters are only a sentence long) from Jesus Christs, by A.J. Langguth. Like I said, I don't remember the story, but the epigraph so impressed me that I spent twenty years tracking down the source book.
I think mine works in context. "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.." -George Patton For the sequel, I don't know what I could use. Maybe an in Universe Character quote or something.
Also Patton (paraphrased) "The point of war isn't to die for your country, it's to make some other bastard die for his."
