Epigraphs

[Meg Larson]

I became somewhat infamous in college for using epigraphs in all of my
papers; three of 'em were the perfect number, and a great way to use
information that was relevant to the paper but didn't quite fit into
the body of the paper.  I've quoted everyone, epigraphically, from
Baudrillard, Jameson, and Derrida to Snoopy from "Peanuts" and some of
my classmates.  My Honors Thesis, for example, uses epi's from
Todorov, Riffaterre, and Wicks Cherrycoke (Hi, Gary).  They are a
great jumping-off point, if you know how to use them, which, of
course, I do.  Sort of the intro to the intro, if you will.

When friends would come to me for help with a paper, usually stumped
as to how to start off, I would tell them to find two or three
epigraphs to use.

A-and three good ones will eat up your first page, so they work out
pretty damn well.

Back to lurkerdom,
M.

"Lord, into what Sub-urbs Satanick hast Thou introduc'd me this time?"
Mason, to Dixon, Mason & Dixon

Meg Larson
Saginaw, MI
meg.larson at worldnet.att.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeremy Osner <jeremy at xyris.com>
To: <Lycidas at worldnet.att.net>
Cc: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2000 10:55 AM
Subject: Re: Epigraphs


> Isn't 'epigraph' also used to mean a witticism independent of
whether
> it's at the beginning of a literary work? I tend to confuse
epigraphs
> with epitaphs.
>
> Lycidas at worldnet.att.net wrote:
>
> > Epigraph:
> >
> >     A brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a
> > literary work.
>
> --
> Both Melissus and Parmenides argue fallaciously,
> and they make false assumptions and their reasonings
> are not logical; but the argument of Melissus is the
> more wearisome, for it sets no problem, but granted
> one strange thing, others follow; and there is no
> difficulty in this.
>
> Aristotle, Physics
>
>