“Call me Ishmael.”

First three words from Herman Melville’s iconic classic Moby Dick doesn’t tell you much about the setting of the voyage the reader is about the embark upon. However, it grabs the attention of every reader’s passive attention to the voice of the novelist. It has been over seventeen decades. The Great American Novel has seen Civil War, two World Wars, Civil Rights Movement and era of Technology; the universal popularity of Moby Dick has reached new heights. It is still one of the most widely read book in United States.

Opening lines seldom introduce the reader to the story. They introduce the reader to the writer. Opening lines might not tell anything about the journey, it does help you understand the person who is holding your hand during the ride.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Charles Dickens’ lines in A Tale Of Two Cities is a master class in writing a memorable opening line. It is philosophical and poetic. It reveals the grain of the writer. The repetitiveness of the phrase ‘it was the’ brings about a rhythm to the prose and the closing phrase brings out the beauty of it. There is a dichotomy in the contrasting meaning of the part sentences (example: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times). The opening lines of this Victorian novel is almost like a stanza of a song.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Imagine reading this. George Orwell in his book 1984 juxtaposed the absurdities to unsettle the reader. This is a great example where writer did introduced the reader to the writer. Written in ’48, Orwell chose a time in future which was not too far away where the reader is immune to the consequences and not too close where the reader feels the narrative unrealistic or conspiratorial.

There are no rules which dictate how an Opening Line has to be written. Some great books have ordinary opening lines. Some mediocre books chance upon something really brilliant. In the end, the success of a book lies in the ability of the writer to build upon the narrative once the reader gets over the opening line.

~S