Dec 02, 2011 the top 10 best opening lines of novels. Best first lines from some of the most popular novels in. It is the first book in the ongoing fantasy trilogy the kingkiller chronicle, followed by the wise mans fear. Taras theme gone with the wind john williams with boston pops opera duration. Jun 20, 2012 full credit to victor flemming and david o.
In quite a few cases, the memorable opening lines are also some of the greatest lines in film history. It wasnt as popular as gone with the wind hense forth no one really knew about it. Dont these opening lines make you want to rush over to your bookshelf and reread all ten. The story is set in clayton county and atlanta, both in georgia, during the american civil war and reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young scarlett ohara, the spoiled daughter of a welltodo plantation owner, who must use every means at. Apr 25, 2018 the novel now sells approximately 250,000 copies per year and has been translated into 40 different languages, making it one of the most popular books of all time. The opening lines of a book are where the reader gets hooked.
That would seem an odd choice, opening the book in the murderers point of view and thereby eliminating all the whodunit element. What do we care if we were expelled from college, scarlett. There was a land of cavaliers and cotton fields called the old south. The south that is there in the book is the south on the eve of, in the middle of, and in the wake of the civil war. Im going to live through this and when its all over, ill never be hungry again. Running through gone with the wind is a persistent theme. My favorite first line of, probably, my favorite author thomas wolfe, a destiny that leads the english to the dutch is strange enough.
First lines quiz as a new month begins, test your knowledge of the best opening lines in literature. What is the first line of the book gone with the wind. However, i took the ten minutes to find the correct points of start and end and trimmed it twice. An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. What is the first line of the book gone with the wind answers. He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the. Rate 5 stars rate 4 stars rate 3 stars rate 2 stars rate 1 star.
The 10 best first lines in fiction books the guardian. The title mitchell finally chose is from the first line of the third stanza of the poem. Coming up on its 80th anniversary and winner of 8 academy awards, the epic historical romance, gone with the wind, takes us through the horrors of the civil war through the eyes of scarlett ohara a vain, headstrong, and sassy southern belle. Apr 25, 2018 gone with the wind remains a timeless american classic, both in print and film. The reader is advised to consult the bibliography for titles of numerous books containing additional information on gone with the wind. I wish i could care what you do or where you go but i cant. Jul 03, 2009 what is the opening sentence in gone with the wind book. Here are 25 unforgettable quotes from the book and movie. Gone with the wind, novel by margaret mitchell, published in 1936. The last lines of the movie, and the last line of the book is,after all, tomorrow is. This pearl of wisdom sets the reader up for a novel that revolves around retrospection and nostalgia, the loss of innocence and the recollection of painful memories. Book quiz, letter quiz, novel quiz, first word, letter. And with so many books to read, the competition between them is wast.
Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The novel now sells approximately 250,000 copies per year and has been translated into 40 different languages, making it one of the most popular books of all time. Gone with the wind is a novel by american writer margaret mitchell, first published in 1936. Opening lines are the initial portions of dialogue or text in a written book or other media work often constituted by at least the first sentence or a fragment thereof. On this day in 1873, writer and politician edward bulwerlytton died.
Gone with the wind by margaret mitchell 1,041,665 ratings, 4. Mar 31, 2010 first lines quiz as a new month begins, test your knowledge of the best opening lines in literature. According to my seo app yoast the opening line of a blog post, post title, subtitles, and also youtube videos and video descriptions according to youtubes own best practices guidelines has to contain your keywordkey phrase. Doesnt familiarity of the myth and media of a classic familiarize one with the writing itself. A summary of the enduring popularity of gone with the wind in s gone with the wind. The top 10 best opening lines of novels litreactor. Here was the astonishing spectacle of half a nation attempting.
To celebrate mitchells unexpected awardwinning masterpiece, were recalling 25 gone with the wind quotes, from either the novel or the film, that give us chills. Thank you for sharing these fabulous opening lines. Gone with the wind remains a timeless american classic, both in print and film. A number of them are so wellknown that they are remembered long after the work, while others are so famous. The name of the wind, also called the kingkiller chronicle. She was a bless your heart type of gal but the meaning would behind it would surely be snarky not sweet. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of gone with the wind and what it means. We end this selection of memorable opening lines on a philosophical note with one of the most famous opening lines of all time. Day one, is a heroic fantasy novel written by american author patrick rothfuss. That book was made by a mr mark twain, and he told the truth, mainly. Play sporcle s virtual live trivia to have fun, connect with people, and get your trivia on. It all starts by opening to the first page and reading the first line.
The epic novel broke records when it sold a million copies in six months during the great depression. A good opening line, or incipit, is usually considered desirable. Gone with the wind quotes by margaret mitchell goodreads. Gone with the wind 1939 was the first official movie that someone swore in. Our guide to the greatest opening lines of novels in the english language, from jane austen to james joyce. For the first time the worlds bestselling book, gone with the wind and the movie too. In particular it is the story of scarlett ohara, a headstrong southern belle. Reading english books is an excellent way to help your learning and get a cultural kick at the same time. If youve seen the movie and thought it was gorgeous and epic, hollywood only barely did justice to the source material. Literature quiz a books by opening lines random literature or novel quiz can you match these books with their opening lines. If you really want to hear about it, the first thing youll probably want to know is where i was born, and what.
The war is going to start any day now so we would have left college anyhow. As god is my witness, as god is my witness theyre are not going to lick me. Gone with the wind is deservedly one of the greatest civil war novels ever written. If only, if only, if only there could be a sound track to this blogisode. Mitchell received the pulitzer prize for fiction for the book in 1937. Selznick international in association with metrogoldwynmayer has the honor to present its technicolor production of margaret mitchells story of the old south gone with the wind. These are many of the bestknown opening lines, fadeins, and first words of dialogue heard throughout cinematic history the initial opening words of films are sometimes heard even before the title credits. Quotes contained on this page have been double checked for their citations, their accuracy and the impact it.
The first line is the authors chance to make a first impression and to capture the imagination of the reader, and the very best books will keep the. Gone with the wind is a sweeping romantic story about the american civil war from the point of view of the confederacy. I used to try to write clever opening lines and titles in my blog posts, but changed all that for better seo. The ten most famous opening lines from english books. Rather than simply saying selznick international in association with metrogoldwyn mayer presents margaret mitchells gone with the wind, the opening credits say selznick international in association with metrogoldwyn mayer has the honor to present its technicolor production of margaret mitchells story of the old south gone with the wind. After youve read barry lancet and anthony franzes piece about some of the masters of opening lines, comment below with your own favorite opening from a thriller, mystery, or crime fiction novel and youll be entered for a chance to win a copy of barrys new novel, pacific burn, from his acclaimed jim brodie series, and anthonys upcoming heartstopper, the advocates daughter. I will be quoting sections from the book, and it is horribly racist. Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually.
Women are socialised from birth to present a giddy, guileless front, and the book is fraught with ambivalence about the ideal woman that scarlett can only ever mimic, never be. Explanation of the famous quotes in gone with the wind, including all important speeches, comments, quotations, and monologues. Apr 22, 2014 we end this selection of memorable opening lines on a philosophical note with one of the most famous opening lines of all time. Its all a bit confusing, which is a shame because i get the feeling there might be an interesting story here trying to get out. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a civilization gone with the wind. Since ive already blown my chance to make a good first impression i offer up fifteen of the greatest opening lines in literature. Mitchell fills the book with period details about this south. I think its quite extraordinary that vivien leighs art was a reflection of her life, basically. What is the resolution in the book gone with the wind.
Gone with the wind is one of those rare books that we never forget. I mean, when you look at her on screen in gone with the wind, she is. Gone with the wind by margaret mitchell, paperback barnes. Each page is manually curated, researched, collected, and issued by our staff writers. Apr 03, 2019 literature quiz novel by opening lines. What is the opening sentence in gone with the wind book. Here was the last ever to be seen of knights and their ladies fair, of master and of slave. Scarlett ohara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the tarleton twins were. What is the first line in the movie gone with the wind. The very first movie to ever swear was the big trail 1930 starring john wayne. One does not have to have read gone with the wind to feel they know it.
You dont know about me without you have read a book by the name of the adventures of tom sawyer, but that aint no matter. On may 3, 1937, margaret mitchell won the pulitzer prize for gone with the wind. The sentence went on to serve as the literary posterchild for bad story starters, and it also became the inspiration behind the annual bulwerlytton fiction contest, in which writers compete for top honors by. The very last line in the movie frankly my dear, i dont give a dahm. We read it when were young and fall in love with the characters, then we watch the film and read the book again and watch the film again and never get tired of revisiting an era that is the most important in our history. Its a lot of fun and a great way to start a writing day rebecca on april 05, 2011 10. Having that in mind, weve rounded up the first lines of some of the worlds most famous books, and they stand as excellent examples of how a short sentence or two can set the tone for an entire story and define its legacy for decades to come. The opening lines a free professional critique of your. Opening scene gone with the wind is a 1939 american epic historical romance film adapted from margaret mitchells 1936 novel of the same. In the final scene of the oscarwinning 1939 weepie gone with the wind, southern belle scarlett ohara vivien leigh is left standing in the hall of her. Looking back at all that has been written by accomplished authors throughout history, its extremely difficult to pick just ten books to mention, but to narrow the search weve opted for books with, in our opinion, the most famous opening lines. Test your knowledge on this literature quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Gone with the wind the 30 best closing lines in films film.
Find out here if you are in the first rank or an april fool. Here in this pretty world, gallantry took its last bow. This infographic features 34 compelling first lines from some of the most famous books of all time. Its important to never judge a book by its cover, but how do you evaluate it. Magazines, newspaper articles and films of the time frequently alluded to the book, and characters and lines from the novel were wellknown throughout the world. The first line is the authors chance to make a first impression and to capture the imagination of the reader, and the very best books will keep the reader hooked from the first line to the very last line. Can you match these books with their opening lines. Definition of gone with the wind in the idioms dictionary. Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.
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