51 of the most beautiful sentences in literature.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 6/18/15 at 5:32pm

My friend shared this with me and I really had a great time reading some of these eloquent sentences. Just thought I'd share :)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/i-am-i-am-i-am#.fcjzgzy8N

[Fantod]

Posted: 6/18/15 at 5:38pm

ridiculous. Only two Shakespeare lines? No Proust? And the ever so pretentious Perks of Being a Wallflower made the cut? Typical of Buzzfeed.

Updated On: 6/18/15 at 05:38 PM

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 6/18/15 at 5:51pm

I think they have some gems in there. Even the Harry Potter one was beautiful. But yes, Perks is a bit pretentious..

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/18/15 at 6:26pm

But they came from Buzzfeed readers, no?  I mean, credit must be given for quotes from Solzhenitsyn and Willa Cather right off the bat, right?

ETA  Funny how a lot of the sentences aren't crafted particularly beautifully at all.   But those Buzzfeed readers really love it when somebody says how important it is to start LIVING life instead of fill in the blanking life.

Updated On: 6/18/15 at 06:26 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/18/15 at 7:57pm

In his book "On Writing," Stephen King points out that a good, memorable quote is usually either a good sentiment or a well-phrased thought, but that the phrasing can cover up a lesser thought.

 

"Plums deify," he gave as a throwaway example of a quote that sounds brilliant because the words are rich and evocative, even though the sentence itself is nonsense. And yet, years later, it's easy to remember "plums deify," because the words are right even without a single though behind it.

 

Quite a few of those quotes, I hate to say, are little more than deified plums.

[wonkit]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 6:52pm

Of all of Shakespeare, those are the two quotes chosen? Someone needs to read more Shakespeare!

 

And I love the Sendak, although you need to know the whole story to understand the sentiment.

 

Very few sentences taken out of context have much power.