Dear Decathletes:
Okay, let's get it out of the way. There's no avoiding it! We have to address this! The opening line of A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most famous opening lines of any novel. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
It is so famous it has practically become a cliche. It rivals "Call Me Ismael" (Moby Dick) as the most famous opening line in literary history. But it does actually serve an important purpose for the story. This famous opening serves to establish the concept of "doubles" that Dickens uses throughout the story. The story takes places in two cities...Paris and London...there are two characters who resemble each other...Carton and Darnay...the French revolution brings freedom but also terror. Watch for this "doubles" Motif throughout the story.
By the way, let's all become aware of the literary term "Motif." A "Motif'" is a symbol, object, or theme that reoccurs throughout the story. There are a few other Motifs in this novel, but this is the first one we encounter. We have to know this literary term!!
The opening is so important that we might as well spell it out here so you can go ahead and memorize it (most people just know the first part)...
"It was 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, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going directly to heaven, we were all going directly the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Decathletes...read those lines, know those lines, become those lines!!!
The first few pages of A Tale of Two Cities also establishes the time frame for the plot. Dickens wants the reader to understand that the story begins in 1775...a few years before the French Revolution. With the opening line, Dickens is letting the reader know that a very significant time in world history is about to occur. 1775 is also the time that the American Revolution is beginning. But it is definitely the French Revolution that Dickens is foreshadowing for the reader.
One more literary term you must know...Anaphora. That's a fancy word for the repetition of certain words at the beginning of a line or verse." By using words like "It was..." several times, Dickens employs the literary device of Anaphora. Okay, the question becomes for you decathletes....why would an author use Anaphora? Can anyone answer that?
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ReplyDeleteAn author may use anaphora to empasize thing that otherwise may be hard to understand or may seem unusual. I have noticed especially in my English and Language Comp class that anaphoras are usually used within parallel structure. I have only read the first couple of pages of this novel, but it seems to me as thought Dickens attempts to contadict himself, although this may just be the comparison, or rather contrast of two different places (England and France?). The anaphora used within the first sentences grabs the readers attention and emphasizes the unusualness of the contrasting images of the two ideas, or rather two places.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget using anaphora as a way to create rhythm. True, Dickens isn't suing anaphora ONLY to create rhythm; but I'm willing to be that, when people read that line, they read it with a certain rhythm.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I'm with Allie on this one. The contradictions Dickens makes in this opening line do shock the reader, making them question how these qualities could possibly co-exist. It gets the reader interested in the book, in hopes that Dickens will make sense of it all later.
Also, the anaphora helps put these contradictions in plain sight. For example, the second clause in the sentence is essentially a repeat of the first, except that "best" is now worst". This way, the reader can point out the opposites quickly.
I've gotten a few chapters into the book. I haven't seen any mention of the doubles motif yet, but the book did get more interesting from where I left of.
well, i dont know much about literature.
ReplyDeletebut to me it seems that dickens uses anaphora as rhythm, as david said, and for emphasis, as allie said.
i also think that the opposites that he puts aside each other shows the two completely different perspectives of those of that time. both in optimism and pessimism.
just as how the american revolution may have been a lost for the british and a gain for us. how both revolutions caused deaths and struggle, but ultimately lead to a better future in their countries.
it shows, that it is best to be able to look at things from different views. and make a valid opinion from it.
-Dana