Sentences are interesting things. Their impact doesn’t depend on their length; they are used to convey much, or nothing. They have a structure which is both fixed and variable; in the hands of a master writer they paint pictures of beauty, horror or anything in between, sometimes both at once. They can leave a lasting impression on us, or dissolve immediately.
They are a necessity in literature and a good sentence makes you want more. Even in the world’s great books, there are sentences which leave you in awe of their impact.
Recently BuzzFeed published a list of 51 sentences their readers considered the most beautiful ever written see here.
I have chosen some of my favourites, in no particular order:
My personal favourite are:
I mentioned that a good sentence makes you want more; as proof, one of the above sentences comes from A Tree Grew in Brooklyn. I haven’t read this book, but this one sentence has piqued my interest and my to read list has a new addition.
Lists such as the above, and indeed the BuzzFeed list, are very subjective – is your favourite sentence in literature in either my list or the full list?
Perhaps you can’t understand how both lists left out your favourite sentence, so please share.