In literature, an epigraph is a short phrase, quote, or poem placed at the beginning of a document, book, or chapter. It can act as an introduction, summarize the content, provide an example that contrasts with the text, or connect the work to other well-known literary pieces. This helps readers understand the context or compare the work to others. A book may include one overall epigraph in its front matter, one for each chapter, or both.

Examples

The book The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy begins with a quote from Winston Churchill about nuclear war: "Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together – what do you get? The sum of their fears."

The poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot starts with a quote from a character in Dante’s Inferno. This quote contrasts with the main character’s feelings in the poem.

The book Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow includes a quote from Scott Joplin, who wrote: "Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast."

The book Altneuland by Theodore Herzl has the quote "If you will it, it is no dream…" This phrase became a saying used by the Zionist movement.

The book Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler includes a quote from Louis Antoine de Saint-Just: "Nobody can rule guiltlessly." This appears before the first chapter.

The book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson begins with a quote from Samuel Johnson: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."

Stephen King often uses quotes at the start of sections in his books. In The Stand, he uses song lyrics to match the story’s themes.

The book Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy starts with three quotes: one from French writer Paul Valéry, one from German mystic Jacob Boehme, and a news article about a fossilized skull found in Ethiopia.

The book Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec has quotes at the beginning that warn readers the story will include tricks and surprises.

The magazine The Bohemian Review includes a quote from Woodrow Wilson’s book The State on its cover. This was done to support Czech and Slovak independence from Austria-Hungary in 1917–1918.

Some writers use fake quotes in their books to make the story more interesting. Examples include:

• The movie Le Samouraï starts with a fictional quote from the Bushido code.
• The movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby uses a fake quote from Eleanor Roosevelt for humor.

• The book series Myrtle Hardcastle by Elizabeth C. Bunce includes quotes from a fictional 19th-century scholar at the start of each chapter.
• The first and last books in Diane Duane’s Rihannsu series pair real quotes from Lays of Ancient Rome with fake quotes from Romulan literature.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald includes a poem on its title page, supposedly written by a character from his earlier book.
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde includes quotes from fictional books that relate to the story.
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green features a quote from a fictional book, An Imperial Affliction, which plays a major role in the story.
• The Book of Counted Sorrows by Dean Koontz includes quotes from a fictional poetry book he created himself. Many readers believed the book was real until Koontz published the poems in a real book.
• Each chapter of Watership Down by Richard Adams starts with a quote from classic literature.
• The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien begins with a poem called The Ring Verse, which describes the magical rings in the story.
• The Unstrung Harp by Edward Gorey includes a fictional poem as its epigraph, even though the book is about a fictional novel.