Epigraph
PublishingThe quotation placed at the head of a book or chapter, offering a reading key — not to be confused with the epitaph.
Example
Every chapter of Dune opens on an excerpt from Princess Irulan's writings — a fictional epigraph building the myth.
The epigraph is the quotation placed at the head of a book, part or chapter: a few borrowed words — verse, sentence, proverb, sometimes an invented source — setting the tone or offering a reading key. It tells the reader: here is the patronage, the conversation, this text belongs to.
Its uses range from wink to framework: some novels build a second narrative through chapter epigraphs alone, real or fictional (the imaginary encyclopedia heading every chapter of Dune is the canonical example). Two practical cautions: verify the quotation's accuracy and attribution — and know that reproducing protected excerpts, however brief, falls under quotation right, whose conditions are assessed case by case.
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Epigraph, dedication, copyright page with the ISBN, colophon: in book mode you write them where they belong, with the trim size, margins and page numbers of your PDF. The exported file keeps the same layout.
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