Epigraphs are a matter of taste. I like them. I also realize it’s pointless to argue with those who do not. Reasoned arguments have and will fail to give me a taste for chicken livers, widely considered a delicacy in my part of the world.
To me, those quotations at the beginning of a book or essay set a tone. They also remind the reader that the theme has been considered by other thoughtful people and is part of an ongoing discussion.
You can tell that’s just a matter of taste by how quickly the argument sinks to rhetorical questions.
What kind of writer needs help setting the tone of his own essay?
What kind of writer would refuse help?
I like fried okra, fried green tomatoes and black-eyed peas, which a surprising number of people in my part of the world think they should consider delicacies but don’t really like.
Arguing doesn’t help.
• Source: Tajja Isen, “What’s the Point of Epigraphs Anyway?”; The Walrus, Oct. 9, 2024.
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