Do you
have a favorite opening line? I have several. But if I had to choose only one
for poetry and one for prose, my choices would be T. S. Eliot’s “April is the Cruellest Month” and Diane Setterfield’s “All children mythologize their birth.” In
fact, I was completely hooked by the entire first quote, which appears at the beginning of The
Thirteenth Tale: “All children mythologize
their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and
soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the
truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story.” I mean,
how could anyone resist that novel after reading those words?
For today’s
optional prompt, I invite you to write poetry or prose inspired by a
fantastic first line. One that hooked you. One that lingers... If you don’t have a favorite first line or can’t think of
one, here are 150 of the most compelling opening lines in literature. And no, I won’t
complain too much about the fact that neither of my chosen first lines appear
in the list. They included the first line of One Hundred Years of Solitude
and a first line about someone’s grandma exploding, I shall forgive them.
It this prompt doesn’t conjure a first line you love, go ahead and share something that does. Your contribution can be new or old, short or longish (369 words or fewer), fiction or nonfiction. Share the direct link to your post, please. One link per participant. Visit other poets and storytellers.
next week,
Rommy will be asking us to write about our “glimmers”. A glimmer is the
opposite of a trigger--some small thing that fills us with happiness/delight
and can turn a mood around.
This isn’t an actual first line, but if it had been…
Oh, it would’ve been my favorite of them all!
I was pleased to see 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' there and several other favourites. (Wondered at the inclusion of some other lines which wouldn't have grabbed me.) Most of all I was delighted that they began with one of my best-loved books, 'The Night Circus.'
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by some of the lines, too. Even if the stories happen to be good, I doubt the first lines would've enticed me to read. And I love The Night Circus too!
DeleteInteresting list of "compelling opening lines." I found very few that would compel me to read further! I think some of them may be included because the author of the article knew the book already, and what was ahead. Well, it's all a matter of preferences!
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you, Lisa. I didn't find more than a few that were actually compelling. I did noticed that many of the books are well known, maybe that's the case. For instance, I did enjoyed reading Moby-Dick, but I've never found the phrase "Call me Ismael" particularly alluring.
DeleteLOL to your closing remark.
DeleteHa! And I just noticed that I spelled "Ishmael" in Spanish.
Delete:-D
DeleteGood day, folks!
ReplyDeletePosting a poem from last week's prompt. Will be back to read later. :)
😉
DeleteDear Magaly, thank you for the wonderful prompt! Is it possible to delete my first entry (No. 14) as it didn't link properly? No.15 seems to have linked okay. Many thanks! Sorry for the inconvenience! :-)
ReplyDeleteDone!
DeleteI'm good at first lines. Trouble is . . . I can never think of the next few . . .
ReplyDelete