Comments on: Edgar Allan Poe: there’s nothing like a good opening line…

By: Rob V

Rob V — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:24:35 +0000

Well done – Poe’s first lines are real hooks. I’d make the same argument for his last lines, though. “The Tell-Tale Heart,” for example, ends with: “It is the beating of his hideous heart!” Another one? “The Masque of the Red Death” ends with “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” There are more, but these are the ones from memory. Probably the best is “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (go read it. NOW).

For more Poe goodness, feel free to check out my web site. http://poecalendar.blogspot.com

By: JS OBrien

JS OBrien — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:59:17 +0000

Denny,

I think I might be able to top that. My FOURTH GRADE teacher read “The Pit and the Pendulum” to us very, very, very slowly, complete with realistic heart thumping sounds. I very nearly peed in my pants.

By: Jim Booth

Jim Booth — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:42:20 +0000

Ann: Sorry about the Allan error – did this late at night – and I’m just getting freaking old….

JS – Agree wholeheartedly about the plays you and Ann mentioned for their opening lines. But the one that always haunts me is the opening line of HAMLET: “For this relief much thanks. Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart….” Gee, maybe I’ve got a topic for next week!

Sam – Joan Didion says that once you’ve written the first line that the story’s fate is decided – it can only go one way from there – if that’s the case, Poe seemed to choose opening lines that led to brilliantly frightening tales instinctively. As Count Floyd would say, “Scary stuff….”

By: Dr. Denny

Dr. Denny — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:38:32 +0000

Over my lifetime, I’ve seen my share of “horror” films — that which Hollywood presumes will scare the bejezus out of us.

But I have never been as frightened as I was the day that my freshman high-school English teacher, Bart “Bowling Ball” Boyden, walked into the classroom book in hand, turned off the lights, pulled down the shades, and read to us in his Shakespearian voice “The Raven.”

I entered the classroom with white undies; I left with brown.

Thanks, Jim.

By: CWMackowski

CWMackowski — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:05:24 +0000

That was a real treat, Jim. Thanks!

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:34:58 +0000

As someone who tries to write fiction, it’s damn hard to write the opening line or two and grab the reader. And it’s critical for a short story, because you have so little text to work with at all.

I personally love ending lines, where the climax is literally in the last line or two, but if the author hadn’t grabbed me with a good opening first, I wouldn’t have read to discover the end.

By: JS OBrien

JS OBrien — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:08:03 +0000

Ann,

Yep. Those are the two. And I wasn’t thinking about MacB as the third, but that’s a good candidate. I was thinking of Romeo and Juliet. The prologue was made somewhat famous by the Zeferilli film.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:42:21 +0000

Oh, and Macbeth is probably your third.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:33:42 +0000

And could you please change “Allen” to “Allan” in the title? It drives me nuts. More nuts.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:32:11 +0000

Twelfth Night and Richard III.

By: JS OBrien

JS OBrien — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:44:17 +0000

I’m with Sam. I never considered Poe’s opening lines before, nor had I considered that the opening lines of “The Raven” might be the most famous in American poetry, even if they have to compete with “Hiawatha” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” for the honor. Thanks for this, Jim.

As an aside, for anyone who wants to play, I’m fascinated by the fact that Shakespeare penned many famous lines, but only two of his plays (well, maybe three) open with lines that are instantly recognizable to most well-read people. What are they? (You don’t get to answer, Jim ).

By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:34:30 +0000

As much Poe as I’ve read, I honestly never thought about this before now. Maybe it’s been too long since I read him. But that first line – you’re right. If the first line hooks the reader, it buys a lot of space to begin developing the body of the tale. And I can’t think of many who have ever done it better.