Before you start writing a novel of the century or a simple story, you should find out what an epigraph is. This word refers to a short text, dictum or quote that precedes the work or part thereof.
Usually the epigraph expresses the essence of the writer's creative intent, the main idea of the work and, of course, tells the reader the main theme of the author’s work, as well as his mood. Knowing what an epigraph is, the creator has a great opportunity to set up the reader in the right way right away, as soon as the first page of his work opens.
Sometimes an epigraph characterizes the characters of the text or gives an overall picture of the storyline. There are epigraphs to the whole work, and there are to one single chapter.
Some, when asked about what an epigraph is, will say that they are quatrains. However, today some authors use not only poems for this, but also short jokes “in the subject”. This plays the role of a small respite in modern tutorials, textbooks, and encyclopedias, where the reader is offered material that is rather difficult to read.
For example, in a tutorial for novice users with a personal computer, a joke about a blonde who calls a service department complaining that her “coffee stand” has broken has not been put forward before the chapter on the drive. On the one hand, he gives mood to the topic of the chapter, and on the other, he slightly dilutes the seriousness of the material with humor. Just like good teachers in lectures!
To better understand what an epigraph is, you should look into the "past life" of this word. It turns out that it had an interesting story. After all, its first meaning was “tombstone”. From here the related word "epitaph" was born.
Probably, the main feature of the epigraph is the fact that the short phrase should contain a maximum of meaning and content, just as a deep thought is expressed in a few words in the epitaph.
The first epigraphs appeared in the Renaissance, however, they were firmly rooted only in the period of Romanticism. Today it is already difficult to find a work of art, wherever they are used.
The design of the epigraph has its own rules, which should be known to everyone who decided to use it in their work. As a rule, it is made out without quotes on the right side of the sheet. The name and surname of the author should not be put in brackets, the dot after them is also missing.
They type it in a font several sizes smaller than the main text, sometimes italicize an epigraph in italics. Making it in a foreign language, next to which is its translation, differs from the usual. After all, typing the text of the original and the translation is necessary with different outlines of the same font and size. It is also important to separate them with a space.
In the epigraph, the quotation should reproduce the quoted text exactly, without any changes. Punctuation marks in the quote should be placed in the same way as in the author's text. If only a fragment of the passage is quoted, then an ellipsis is placed at the place of the pass according to the rules. Also, in a phrase that is not written from the beginning, ellipsis is put.
All lines should be approximately the same length. Very often, in fiction texts with good design, the epigraph to the entire book is placed on a separate odd page next to the title page. When using those for each chapter, they are placed after their name or number.
You should also remember some of the axioms of using epigraphs.
1. A poetic text can never be retold in your own words!
2. With regard to the rules of punctuation in prose, it must completely coincide with the punctuation in direct speech.