Choosing an Epigraph can be a useful tool to help readers connect with the theme of your novel very early on. Many are placed right before the beginning of the first chapter as a preview to the happenings within. The Google definition of an epigraph states, “a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme.” Here are some tips on choosing epigraphs that I have learned from choosing one myself as well as encountering them in many books!
Remember, an Epigraph is Optional
Before getting started, I’d like to stress that epigraphs are entirely optional. It’s not essential to a novel. No one is going to write a one-star review and say, “It didn’t have an epigraph. Refused to read.” That’s just crazy. So if you can’t make them fit, it’s not a deal-breaker.
You Can Choose Your Number of Epigraphs
How an author chooses to handle epigraphs is entirely up to them. You can have one at the very beginning of the novel before the first chapter, as well as one at the beginning of every chapter. You can also have epigraphs in some chapters and not others, and any combination of all of these options. Some books have epigraphs at the front of integral chapters, such as the first and last, or many just have one at the very beginning of the book.
You Can Place More than One Epigraph on a Page!
There’s nothing saying you can’t have two epigraphs at the begging of a book or chapter. I’ve seen this done in many books, one example being Contact by Carl Sagan, which has epigraphs placed in front of chapters.
Remember the Theme
Epigraphs suggest the theme of a novel or chapter. It’s important to use them as a tool to communicate with your readers. Putting epigraphs that readers have a hard time connecting to the theme might get confusing. Though, if it’s a quote that’s really important to your novel in some sort of way, you shouldn’t keep yourself from including it just because someone might get confused. This is a balancing act, and if there’s something that you’d like to mention about your epigraph(s), there’s always the option of including an author’s note in the back of the book.
For example, I did this for the epigraph I placed at the beginning of my novel. It makes sense to the reader if they read it again after finishing the book, but there is more to the context of the epigraph itself that is not immediately obvious just by reading it. The epigraph was from a letter, and the letter itself also related to the theme of my novel as well. The quote isolated made sense, but I thought it important to expand on that as part of my author’s note.
Where Do You Look for an Epigraph?
Epigraphs can come from anywhere. Did your mom say something to you that helped inspired your novel? That can be an epigraph. A quote from another book by another author? Possible epigraph. How about using a quote from another work, also created by you? This can be done as well. In fact, F. Scott Fitzgerald did this with the Epigraph of The Great Gatsby. Thomas Park D’Invelliers is not a real person, but rather a character from another one of Fitzgerald’s works entitled This Side of Paradise.
That being said, epigraphs can come from anywhere. It can come straight from one or an outside source. Just remember to credit whoever created it or where it came from, even if that person is fictional and you created it!
How Do You Pick an Epigraph?
The easiest way is to choose one is to think about what exactly inspired your novel. Where did your first musings come from? Was there a specific person or event that inspired you? This is the first step to picking an epigraph. If it was a person, research quotes by them and see if anything fits with your theme. There might possibly be one that fits quite well with your message. If it’s an event, research accounts of that event. For instance, if your novel is a historical drama set in England during World War I, perhaps search for writers or soldiers from England that were alive at that time.
You could also read poetry that relates to your theme. If you’re writing about love, perhaps a sonnet, if you’re going the creepy route, something akin to Edgar Allen Poe, and so on.
Don’t forget quotes from movies, video games, and television can also work as epigraphs. The novel The End Games by T. Michael Martin has an epigraph stating, “Everything that is not saved will be lost.” which is a Nintendo quit screen message.
Test It Out!
If you’re experimenting with epigraphs, set up an epigraph page where you wish to place it and type up a few quotes to see how they look. Type the ones you’re interested in one by one (or any number of combination, in the way you wish to present it in print), and see how it looks. This could also mean reading the epigraph, then reading through that chapter or the first pages at the start of your book as if you were a reader. If it doesn’t fit with what you intended, try something else and keep repeating until you find something that sticks.
Ask for a Second Opinion
If you have beta-readers or an editor, you can always ask them for their opinions on the epigraph you already have in your draft, or you could ask them for their opinions on any possible epigraphs you’re considering adding. A second opinion could help make up your mind easier than going it alone.
These are just a few tips for choosing an epigraph. Including epigraphs in your work can be a nice addition, as well as a way to better communicate with your readers. I had fun choosing one to include in my novel, and the one I ended up choosing holds a strong meaning for the novel as well as the theme. If you have any tips, feel free to share them in the comments below!
Cordelia Rhein 