Opening sentence
Template:Short description The opening sentence or opening line stands at the beginning of a written work. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term Script error: No such module "Lang". ('it begins') is in use for the very first words of the opening sentence.[citation needed]
Function
As in speech, a personal document such as a letter normally starts with a salutation; this, however, tends not to be the case in documents, published articles, essays, poetry, lyrics, general works of fiction and nonfiction. In nonfiction, the opening sentence generally points the reader to the subject under discussion directly in a matter-of-fact style. In journalism, the opening line typically sets out the scope of the article.
In fiction, authors have much liberty in the way they can cast the beginning.[1] Techniques to hold the reader's attention include keeping the opening sentence to the point, showing attitude, shocking, and being controversial.[2][3] One of the most famous opening lines, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", starts a sentence of 118 words[4] that draws the reader in by its contradiction. Moby-Dick's "Call me Ishmael." is an example of a short opening sentence. The first sentence of the novel Yes contains 477 words. Formulaic openings are generally avoided, but expected in certain genres, such as fairy tales beginning "Once upon a time...".
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
Satire
Inspired by the opening, "It was a dark and stormy night...", the annual tongue-in-cheek Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest invites entrants to compose "the opening sentence of the worst of all possible novels",[5] and its derivative, the Lyttle Lytton Contest, for its equivalent in brevity.
As title
The opening sentence may sometimes be also used as the title for the work; the Latin for this is Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning 'the first part' or 'the beginning'. In this way papal encyclicals and bulls are titled according to their Script error: No such module "Lang"..[6]
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.David Venter. "The Opening sentence - The Genesis of the Novel". Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Alan Rinzler. "Ask the Editor: The Power of the Opening Sentence - 6 Tips". Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.John Paul Hernandez (10 August 2021). "How to Write the Best Opening Line". Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Charles Dickens (1964). A Tale of Two Cities. Boston: Dana Estes. ISBN 0671006118.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest". Bad Writing Contest. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Museum of Learning. "Encyclicals: Roman Catholic Usage". Retrieved December 6, 2009.
