Epigraph (literature)

In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document, monograph or section or chapter thereof.[1] The epigraph may serve as a preface to the work; as a summary; as a counter-example; or as a link from the work to a wider literary canon,[2] with the purpose of either inviting comparison or enlisting a conventional context.[3]

Not to be confused with epitaph, epigram, epithet, or epigraph (mathematics).
Facsimile of the original title page for William Congreve's The Way of the World published in 1700, on which the epigraph from Horace's Satires can be seen in the bottom quarter.

A book may have an overall epigraph that is part of the front matter, or one for each chapter.

Examples
Epigraph, consisting of an excerpt from the book itself, William Morris's The House of the Wolfings
Epigraph and dedication page, The Waste Land

Fictional quotations

Some writers use as epigraphs fictional quotations that purport to be related to the fiction of the work itself. Examples include:

In films

In literature
  • Some science fiction works, such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, Frank Herbert's Dune series, and Jack McKinney's Robotech novelizations use quotations from an imagined future history of the period of their story.
  • Fantasy literature may also include epigraphs. For example, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series includes epigraphs supposedly quoted from the epic poetry of the Earthsea archipelago.
  • Elizabeth C. Bunce's Edgar Award-winning Myrtle Hardcastle mystery series, beginning with Premeditated Myrtle includes epigraphs by the fictional 19th century scholar H.M. Hardcastle at the beginning of each chapter of the five-book series.
  • The first and last books of Diane Duane's Rihannsu series of Star Trek novels pair quotations from Lays of Ancient Rome with imagined epigraphs from Romulan literature.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby carries on title page a poem called from its first hemistich "Then Wear the Gold Hat," purportedly signed by Thomas Parke D'Invilliers. D'Invilliers is a character in Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise.
  • Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair has quotations from supposedly future works about the action of the story.
  • John Green's The Fault in Our Stars has a quotation from a fictitious novel, An Imperial Affliction, which features prominently as a part of the story.
  • Stephen King's The Dark Half has epigraphs taken from the fictitious novels written by the protagonist.
  • Dean Koontz's The Book of Counted Sorrows began as a fictional book of poetry from which Koontz would "quote" when no suitable existing option was available; Koontz simply wrote all these epigraphs himself. Many fans, rather than realizing the work was Koontz' own invention, apparently believed it was a real, but rare, volume; Koontz later collected the existing verse into an actual book.[5]
  • The Ring Verse at the beginning of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings describes the Rings of Power, the central plot device of the novel.
  • Akame Majyo's Time Anthology begins each chapter with an excerpt from a fictional grimoire.
  • Brandon Sanderson, in his Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series uses various epigraphs including letters between various gods, so-called "death rattles" and quotes from the villain's diary.
  • Edward Gorey's The Unstrung Harp is not only about a fictitious novel, but its author thinks of a fictional verse for its epigraph.

See also
  • Epigram, a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement
  • Incipit, the first few words of a text, employed as an identifying label
  • Flavor text, applied to games and toys
  • Prologue, an opening to a story that establishes context and may give background
  • Keynote, the first non-specific talk on a conference spoken by an invited (and usually famous) speaker in order to sum up the main theme of the conference.

References
  1. "Epigraph". University of Michigan. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. "Definition of Epigraph". Literary Devices. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  3. Bridgeman, Teresa (1998). Negotiating the New in the French Novel: Building Contexts for Fictional Worlds. Page No-129: Psychology Press, 1998. ISBN 0415131251. Retrieved 17 December 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. Clancy, Tom (1991). The Sum of All Fears. London: Harper Collins Publishing.
  5. Koontz, Dean. Podcast Episode 25: Book of Counted Sorrows 1 (Podcast). Retrieved July 9, 2011.

Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epigraphs in literature.
  • Epigraphic: an ever-growing, searchable collection of literary epigraphs
  • Epigraph at Literary Devices
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