The Iliad: Thus, then, did they celebrate the funeral of Hector tamer of horses.
The Metamorphoses of Ovid: In tears, the hero is relating these things to them, as they weep, and, lo! Æacus enters, with his two sons, and his soldiers newly levied; which Cephalus received, furnished with valorous arms.
Hamlet: Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this/ Becomes the field but here shows much amiss./ Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Okay, baby, hold tight," said Zphod. "We'll take in a quick bite at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe."
Fahrenheit 451: And Faber, of course, is a maker of pencils! What a sly thing my subconscious was, to name them thus. And not tell me!
Anne of Green Gables: "'God's in his heaven, all's right with the world,'" whispered Anne softly.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” - Great Gatsby
“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.” - Last Battle, Narnia
“But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap. He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.” - LOTR
“The sword glitters not because the swordsman set out to make it glitter, but because he is fighting for his life and therefore moving it very quickly.”
These final two first lines are like the sword - brilliant and beautiful because they are deftly used for their purpose by masters at their craft. But in my mind (and my husbands who reminded me of this quote) Lewis’ glitters just a bit more. Appropriate since the above quote is also his from Surprised by Joy.
So hard to choose! P&P is the first first line I was required to memorize (okay, other than the opening to Romeo and Juliet), and it has a special place in my heart. But CS Lewis just outdid himself with his first line…and I kind of think Jane would have voted for it too, so I went with Poor Eustace. 😂
Whoa, looks like a potential upset - P&P's is surely the Citizen Kane of opening lines.
Poor Eustace (and his vegetarian parents) the butt of an absolutely great one-liner. The personality of the narrator comes so clearly through that opening sentence and chapter - even though I don't like that narrator.
In P&P the opening line captures perfectly the ironic tone of the best novel of the best novelist.
Did anyone predict this ending? I just want to go audiobook Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the end of the round win!
Let’s do a closing line match-up next time!
Here are some examples for you, SDG.
The Iliad: Thus, then, did they celebrate the funeral of Hector tamer of horses.
The Metamorphoses of Ovid: In tears, the hero is relating these things to them, as they weep, and, lo! Æacus enters, with his two sons, and his soldiers newly levied; which Cephalus received, furnished with valorous arms.
Hamlet: Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this/ Becomes the field but here shows much amiss./ Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Okay, baby, hold tight," said Zphod. "We'll take in a quick bite at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe."
Fahrenheit 451: And Faber, of course, is a maker of pencils! What a sly thing my subconscious was, to name them thus. And not tell me!
Anne of Green Gables: "'God's in his heaven, all's right with the world,'" whispered Anne softly.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” - Great Gatsby
“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.” - Last Battle, Narnia
“But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap. He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.” - LOTR
I missed voting in the final as I was out of good cell service watching the eclipse but I love the result. This was so fun I want to play again
I’d love to see the FINAL lines of books for next year’s bracket! This year’s contest was fantastic!
Oops, I posted the same thing days later 😆
Great minds think alike?
Wow. I keep talking myself into each one and then making the counterargument for the other and then talking myself into the other...
1) this is a great final 2 matchup and 2) I thought it would be closer! I'll have to keep checking back to see the %s change
“The sword glitters not because the swordsman set out to make it glitter, but because he is fighting for his life and therefore moving it very quickly.”
These final two first lines are like the sword - brilliant and beautiful because they are deftly used for their purpose by masters at their craft. But in my mind (and my husbands who reminded me of this quote) Lewis’ glitters just a bit more. Appropriate since the above quote is also his from Surprised by Joy.
My heart tells me one thing, and my head another.
So hard to choose! P&P is the first first line I was required to memorize (okay, other than the opening to Romeo and Juliet), and it has a special place in my heart. But CS Lewis just outdid himself with his first line…and I kind of think Jane would have voted for it too, so I went with Poor Eustace. 😂
This might have been the hardest decision I made this week
Whoa, looks like a potential upset - P&P's is surely the Citizen Kane of opening lines.
Poor Eustace (and his vegetarian parents) the butt of an absolutely great one-liner. The personality of the narrator comes so clearly through that opening sentence and chapter - even though I don't like that narrator.
In P&P the opening line captures perfectly the ironic tone of the best novel of the best novelist.
They are both worthy first lines and I love them both. Lewis’ line is so compact and expressive that I had to pick it.
I just had to close my eyes and pick one. 🫣
I hope it’s a dead tie.
This is going to be close!
I didn’t expect this to be so difficult!
Agreed!
And my 18 year old lit lover son predicted this final combo right from the start.
That's impressive