Great opening lines can capture the viewer of a film or the listener of a song, none more so than stories of love and romance. Something that pulls at the heartstrings and creates intrigue. Something that speaks to everyone of loves lost, currently existing or unrequited love.
How does this end? Do they get together? Do they become lovers?
Some examples of wonderful opening lines from songs and films include:
- "You look so wonderful in your dress" — Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran
- "That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby, and it didn't occur to me to mind." — Dirty Dancing (1987) [DVD]
- "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport." — Love Actually (2003) [DVD]
- "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." — William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) [DVD]
Opening lines are also needed to hook a reader, create interest and intrigue and capture the scene and/or characters in the story. The opening line can make or break your story and is a great way to capture the reader. Above all, it may tweak interest and encourage the reader to continue with the story and LOVE the rest of the book.
Library staff can help you find a book to love. We are celebrating Library Lovers’ Day on 14 February 2022, this year the theme is ‘Show the love’.
Here is a list of items that you may enjoy or love:
"This is my favourite book in all the world, though I have never read it." — The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure by William Goldman. Available in print and film.
"Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were." — Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Available in print and film.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Available in print and audiobook.
“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” — Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
"My name is Tom Harris and I am invisible." — The Library by Bella Osborne. Available in eBook and audiobook.
"Even in Los Angeles, where there is no shortage of remarkable hairdoes, Harry Peak attracted attention." — Library Book by Susan Orlean. Available in print and eBook.
“I know relationships hurt but I didn’t think I’d end up in hospital as a result.” — Loving Lizzie March by Susannah Hardy. Available in print, eBook and audiobook.
Show the love by sending us your favourite opening lines from a book, film or song, especially about love. Or better yet, come to the library, say hello and borrow to your heart's content!