As writers and readers we are emotionally moved by words. Words make us happy. They make us angry. They make us think. We can be moved to tears, to laughter. We can even be moved to throw the book against the wall when it disappoints or angers us. But in every single case, without question, words make us FEEL.
Here are a few books that have memorable lines. I've put the book and author following it, but how many of you could have quoted the title and author even without the prompt?
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . ." (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." (Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier)
"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." (Holy Bible, King James Version)
There are some works of fiction, be they classics, literary prose, or good ole romance that have those Ah Ha moments whey you are reading them, those particular words that resonate with you and remain long after you've finished the book.
The same thing with goes for movies.
"I'll be back." (Terminator)
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." (Gone With The Wind)
"Never give up, never surrender!" (Galaxy Quest—sorry, I couldn't resist since this should be the motto all writers live by).
It's not always the opening lines we remember; maybe it's something from the middle, or evening from the end of a movie or book or even a song. But there's just something about a certain combination of words and phrases that can touch us intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
Each person has lines and phrases that are special to them, that kept them reading a certain book or watching a certain movie, or evening listening to the same song, over and over.
What's yours? Tell me about a special line or phrase from a book or movie or song that springs to mind when you think about your favorites.
32 comments:
Here's from one of mine:
"Yuck." Pretty much covered the whole freakin' day.
Good post!
Vicki,
I like that line. Cute! Here's one of my old books:
Tanner Burnett sat in the stagecoach dressed like a banker, the string tie around his neck feeling like the noose he'd been running from for the last ten years.
Great Post Kathy!
Thanks, Vicki. Great line!
Syliva, what a great line. Vivid imagery and you can just picture him sitting there, running his finger around a too stiff collar.
Stupid spellchecker. Please forgive the mistakes in the blog post. I though I caught them all but apparently one or two got away from me (evening should be even). GRRR!!!
Still, give me some of your best lines from classics or from your own works. :-)
Maybe there won't be marriage... maybe there won't be sex... but, by God, there'll be dancing.
Always loved that last line from My Best Friend's Wedding. - LOL
One of my favorite book quotes:
"And when ye screamed, I went to you, armed wi' nothing but an empty gun and my two hands." (hearts pounding as I type this!) James Fraser - Outlander (pg. 387)
Once of my favorite movie quotes:
All my life I've lived by a code and the code is simple: honor the gods, love your woman and defend your country. Troy is mother to us all. Fight for her!
Hector - Troy 2004
You gals know some good ones.
Great post, Kathy! I love quotes, and I have a stack of them I pull out from time to time. Here's one of my favorites:
"Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman's got to hold on to."--from Delores Claiborne by Stephen King
:-) Have a fabulous day!
One of the funniest lines I remember was from Friends when Rachel told Ross that she was "over him" and he asked, "When were you under me?" Also when the gang told Monica she couldn't date the guy who had been her dentist when she was a kid because he was a "grown up." I also remember an "All in the Family Episode" where Gloria feared she'd fallen out of love with Michael because he was really getting on her nerves. Edith told her to just give it some time and she'd come back around to loving him. Then a few days later, Michael walked into the kitchen and said "I'm hungry" and Gloria started gushing saying "Did you hear that? He's hungry?" and she fell in love with him all over again. Even as a young girl, the idea stuck with me that love has its ups and downs. It was a great line.
Chris, I loved that line, too! Movies are great fodder for writers as they give us a visuasl outlet. Thanks for commenting. :-)
Sasha--Outlander has so many memorable quotes, and you picked a great one. I have to admit I don't remember seeing Troy, but now I'll have to get it. Thanks.
J.D. I love, love that quote! If fits my life on so many levels. LOL Thanks for dropping by today.
Diane, I cold probably name dozens of quotes from Friends. There were just so many, including the one you mentioned. That's a favoriate of mine. It's funny how something like the All in the Family quote like "I'm Hungry" can churn up such emotion. Food for thought (pun intended). LOL
Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it. And congratulations on your new release: Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure out now!
Okay, I'm playing.
"Which one of you bitches is my mother?" from LACE by Shirley Conran.
"There's no crying in baseball." from A League of Their Own.
And one from my ghost story in keeping with the hungry theme Diane mentioned. It's my ghost talking about her ex.
"He had two emotions-hungry and horny. When he'd get that look in his eye, I'd fix him a sandwich."
Have a great day, guys. Love these quotes.
And from Pride and Prejudice, the movie:
"You have bewitched me, body and soul."
I melt over that one and will watch the movie just to hear the line.
Liz, I forgot that one from LACE. It's definitely a classic.
And I can still picture Tom Hanks sayhing that line from A League of Their Own.
Your line though is hysterical. Thanks so much for dropping by and playing with us.
Ah, yes, that lovely movie. I can close my eyes and hear his saying that in his wonderful accent and like you I just melt inside. I mean, how romantic is that? Sigh. . .
Here's one of my favorites:
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.- from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Great post!!!
Angela Hicks
Rats. I wish I could hit "like" on these quotes!
One of my all-time favorites is from a short story called "Dark Alley" - it goes: "I’m all over this like a cheap suit on a kangaroo. And don’t you forget it."
Of course there's the famous line from Airplane "Don't call me Shirley." I love the ones that make us laugh!
Angela--Ferris Bueller! So many great quotes from that one, too! You've made me chuckle. Thanks, I needed that. :-)
K.S. I still laugh when I see Leslie Nielsen saying that line and keeping such a straight face while delivering it.
I don't think I've read Dark Alley, but that line is great, too!
Thanks for dropping by the Plotting Princesses. (You may not be able to hit like--but we're just glad that you do "like" them). :-)
The first line of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
And a line from the movie Jaws:
"We need a bigger boat."
Linda. That's why she is considered a classic; lines like that. Powerful yet understated. And who could forget that line from Jaws? Perfect. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hey Kathy, fun post!
I have laid claim to a lyric line from a song in the Footloose movie, using it as my personal mantra:
“Take your passion and make it happen…”
Funny, I can’t even tell you the proper name of the song, but this one line inspires me.
Phyllis
Hi Kathy,
Never give up, never surrender (of course, you already mentioned it!).
Luke, I am your father.
May the Force be with you.
(can you tell I like Star Wars???)
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. - Forrest Gump movie
LOL-
I remember jaws and ' I think we need a bigger boat' SO well!!- and the look on the actors face made it all the more priceless!!
but Phyllis' post about song lyrics reminded me of James Taylor = The Secret of Life
great tune about making life a lovely ride - but the line I always loved was in the chorus -
"Any fool can do it - there ain't nothing to it- no body knows how he got to the top of hill'
Phyllis: Footloose is such a classic from my era. I can't believe they are remaking it. . . I just can't imagine it having the same vibe. Great lyric, too.
Karilyn: Star Wars and Forrest Gump! Another set of classic quotes from two great films. Reading all these quotes by everybody is such a blast!
Chris: Are we aging ourselves by admitting to knowing lyrics by James Taylor. All these youngster might not even know who he is. LOL
Great lyric, too. Thanks.
My thanks to everyone who stopped by the Plotting Princesses and gave their quotes from books, movies, and music.
As I said, no matter what media it comes from WORDS make us FEEL. Something we as writers and readers should always remember. Have a great weekend, everyone.
I know...sorry I'm late. A few of my favs are from Out of Africa:
Karen Blixen ( Meryl Streep ):
"I have learned a thing that you haven't. There are some things worth having but they come at a price and I want to be one of them."
Karen Blixen ( Meryl Streep ):
"Perhaps he knew as I did not that the world was made round so we don't see too far down the road."
Robert Redford (Denys) also said something that I use on occasion:
"Why can't we let things that don't matter...not matter."
This was great you guys. Loved it!
Post a Comment