epigraph
noun
ep·i·graph
ˈe-pə-ˌgraf 
1
: an engraved inscription
2
: a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme
Examples of epigraph in a Sentence
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The book is an exhausting typographical obstacle course; that each of its 107 chapters begins with a snippet of poetry as an epigraph does not make reading it any easier.
—
Mike Hale, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a half-skeptical lament for the process of tyranny and dissent, as alluded to in the scriptural epigraph about the strangling Ficus religiosa tree that gives the film its title.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
My group chat has a recurring debate about epigraphs, and during one of its iterations, a novelist friend said that epigraphs should simply be put into the book: not as front matter, but in the book itself.
—Elisa Gabbert, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The epigraph is a quotation from A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh series, and its extended opening thought experiment involves vampires.
—Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
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Mike Hale, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a half-skeptical lament for the process of tyranny and dissent, as alluded to in the scriptural epigraph about the strangling Ficus religiosa tree that gives the film its title.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
My group chat has a recurring debate about epigraphs, and during one of its iterations, a novelist friend said that epigraphs should simply be put into the book: not as front matter, but in the book itself.
—Elisa Gabbert, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The epigraph is a quotation from A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh series, and its extended opening thought experiment involves vampires.
—Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for epigraph
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Cite this Entry
“Epigraph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epigraph. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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