Original artwork, not a still
A Tale of Two Cities (first line)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Dickens sets the French Revolution on a see-saw: every virtue of the age comes with its mirror image, and readers are meant to feel their own era is in the same position. That is why the line keeps getting borrowed, by columnists, speechwriters and every time a bad year has a good side. It is among the most recognisable openings in English, and the sentence still continues for another hundred words or so.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for A Tale of Two Cities (first line)Show the scene
This opens Book the First, chapter one ('The Period') of A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens sets 1775 up as a time of balanced opposites, with the sentence running on through wisdom and foolishness, belief and incredulity, light and darkness, hope and despair, before he turns to the thrones of England and France. The novel ran in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens's new magazine All the Year Round, starting in its first issue on 30 April 1859, and finished on 26 November that year.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: A Tale of Two CitiesBook I, Chapter I - The PeriodReference checked
- Wikipedia: A Tale of Two CitiesPublication historyReference checked
Context reviewed
