Jul 25, 2016 in treating translations of anna karenina, malcolm also has some unkind words for the schwartz translation. Tolstoy revisits this old genre in order to give his own spin on family values, which were a popular target of attack for young russian liberals at the time. Tolstoys anna karenina upper elemmiddle school printable worksheet in the classroom or at home. Because of this, the opening sentence of anna karenina can also be read as a thesis for the story to come. Based on the title of the novel, youd probably assume that the whole book is about anna karenina. You cant judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence. The first sentence of tolstoys novel anna karenina is. Ten great opening lines in literature the irish times. But there is no doubt that anna karenina, generally considered tolstoys best book, is definitely one ripping great read. Aug 01, 20 august 1, 20 august 1, 20 roch books tags. The first and last lines of iconic books, and what they.
The first sentence of anna karenina is one of the bestknown openings of any novel. Jan 20, 2019 i dont know why i never read it, but its always a book ive wanted to read, so much so that ive had it sitting on my shelf for years. Moreover, this opening sentence of anna karenina sets a philosophical tone that persists throughout the work. Anna karenina leo tolstoy, gary saul morson, marian. The first edition of the novel was published in 1878, and was written by leo tolstoy. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 964 pages and is available in paperback format. It may be the silliest damn sentence ever set down by a great author, leo tolstoys opening of anna karenina. He was incapable of deceiving himself and persuading himself that he repented of his conduct. Having that in mind, weve rounded up the first lines of some of the worlds most famous books, and they stand as excellent examples of how a short sentence or two can set the tone for an entire story and define its legacy for decades to come. Sep 24, 2009 anna karenina is, as one critic put it, a crosssection of russian life. We explore what it means and the themes it presents.
His project, translator marian schwartz observes, was to bend language to his will, as an instrument of his aesthetic. The novels first sentence, which indicates its concern with the domestic, is perhaps tolstoys most famous. The last lines of anna karenina reinforce the goal of the novel. The first and last lines of iconic books, and what they reveal. Tolstoys other masterpiece, anna karenina 187377, told a tragic story of a married woman, who follows her lover, but finally at a station throws herself in front of an incoming train. Greta garbo played anna in the 1935 movie anna karenina. This world literature classic has inspired dozens of stage, movie, and ballet adaptation, the latest of which is the universal pictures september release film starring keira knightley and jude law. It is not a narrative beginning that tells a story about particular characters and their actions.
Schwartz lays claim on the first two sentences of the book. Early drafts of anna in the first drafts of anna karenina, anna is fat and vulgar. Leo tolstoy, anna karenina he soon felt that the fulfillment of his desires gave him only one grain of the mountain of happiness he had expected. In a 20 interview with joe fassler, horror fiction maestro stephen king reflected on the magnitude of a novels introductory sentence. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a french girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. However, this formula cannot be tested because the families in anna karenina are not happy families, and the reader is treated to people nearly broken by adultery and scandal. Petersburg, reflecting on her infatuation with vronsky, but when she arrives home she dismisses it as a fleeting crush. In a single sentence, he manages to set up the novels ohsointriguing premise icymi, the book is about a hermaphrodite, as well as the time period and place.
Dec 28, 2014 at the very beginning of the book, in the second paragraph, where tolstoy describes his first unhappy family, that of annas brother, bartlett gets tripped up by the use of tenses in russian and. Anna, miserable in her loveless marriage, does the barely. The last paragraph of leo tolst oys anna kar enina ill get angry in the same way with the coachman ivan, argue in the same way, speak my mind inappropriately, there will be the same wall between my souls holy of holies and other people, even my wife, ill accuse her in the same way of my own fear and then regret it, ill fail in the same way to understand with my reason why i pray. Anna karenina by leo tolstoy, first 2paragraphs, all happy. Anna karenina opens with one of the most crazyfamous sentences of all time. This fulfillment showed him the eternal error men make in imagining that their happiness depends on the realization of their desires. You cant judge a book by its cover, but what about its opening line.
The oftquoted opening sentence to anna karenina, however, does little for me as a reader. At the very beginning of the book, in the second paragraph, where tolstoy describes his first unhappy family, that of anna s brother, bartlett gets tripped up by the use of tenses in russian and. The first sentence sets the stagehowever long or short the textand hints at the narrative vehicle. Feb 05, 2020 while the novel is told in past tense, this first line is in present tensea declaration that holds through time. Crafting and recrafting each sentence with careful intent, he was anything but casual in his use of language. A crisis develops in the oblonsky household when dolly finds out about her husbands affair. Such a pronouncement, with the appearance of thoughtfully dispensed wisdom, holds the promise of a. Pdf anna karenina book by leo tolstoy free download 964. It is often said that tolstoys anna karenina begins with one of the most famous first sentences in world literature. From melville to didion, these first sentences from famous books. Making love and happiness in anna karenina rock the. In this famed first sentence of anna karenina, tolstoy alludes to the two kinds of familial happiness, almost comically simplifying the idea of family. Anna karenina is on lists of the top ten novels of all time get the new viking translation by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky. I accept the book s quest for higher meaning, but how can its author.
Mar, 2018 it is often said that tolstoys anna karenina begins with one of the most famous first sentences in world literature. Anna karenina is a novel that beguiles and intrigues, i have read anna karenina many times, yet i always fall in love with anna on first sight, just as vronsky and kitty fall in love with her when they first see her. Everything was in confusion in the oblonskys house. The greatest novel ever written is a superlative applied frequently to leo tolstoys anna karenina, which first appeared in print in 1875. New translations of tolstoys anna karenina the new. Talk about your initial perceptions of leo tolstoy as a writer and his sweeping novel anna karenina. Such a pronouncement, with the appearance of thoughtfully dispensed wisdom, holds the promise of a narrator who will illuminate all that follows.
Anna is intelligent and charming and beautiful and wonderfully dressed and clearly fundamentally good. His project, translator marian schwartz observes, was to bend language to his will, as an instrument of his aesthetic and moral convictions. Anna kareninas first line is one of the most famous openings to a novel in all of literature. Tolstoy has just seen the adulterous woman destroyed by the train and sets out to condemn her. Interestingly, this oftspoken statement is incorrect. Anna karenina stickers featuring millions of original designs created by independent artists. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Anna karenina pevearvolokhonsky translation by leo tolstoy. Ask anyone who has read it, and it will be among his or her. The first line to eugenidess pulitzer prizewinning novel is a textbook example of efficient writing. I think the first chapter of anna karenina would be stronger without its iconic opening line.
Definition this novel of a tragic love affair is generally considered tolstoys best book if not the best novel ever 18731876. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of. Hemingway, when asked what three books a writer should read, answered. Anna karenina interweaves the stories of three families, the oblonskys, the karenins, and the levins. Often quoted but rarely understood, the first sentence of anna karenina all happy families resemble each other. Petersburg, and their mutual attraction intensifies as anna begins to mix with the freethinking. Often quoted but rarely understood, the first sentence of anna kareninaall happy families resemble each other. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Decorate your laptops, water bottles, notebooks and windows. When you start a novel with a sentence like that, youre broadcasting a message to your readers that your book is going to focus in on the happiness or the lack thereof if its characters. Click here to sign up to the irish times book club. Stivas sister, anna karenina, arrives to reconcile the couple and dissuades dolly from getting a divorce. New translations of tolstoys anna karenina the new york. Opening lines to anna karenina the grinnell college russian.
Aug 17, 2012 tolstoys masterpiece of realism, the great novel of the 19th century. Sep 06, 2019 30 great opening lines in literature save from left. Leo tolstoys anna karenina, translated by miriam schwartz. Again timely, he concludes with an abstract philosophical statement that focuses on the self as the center of existence, a theory that was of interest during the time this novel was written. Anna karenina, by leo tolstoy, is known to be a love story, of course. Tolstoy is way too crafty for that while anna is one focus of tolstoys intense psychological analysis, the novel is about a lot more than just one woman. The first sentence of leo tolstoys novel anna karenina is. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading anna karenina. Konstantin levin, stivas friend, arrives in moscow to propose to the eighteen year old kitty shtcherbatsky.
That book was made by a mr mark twain, and he told the truth. Everyone is killed but the narrator, who had quickly familiarized himself with audience from the very first line. So we can assume that love and happiness are at the heart of the book. Many writers consider anna karenina the greatest work of literature ever, and tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. Free download or read online anna karenina pdf epub book. Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Publication of this exacting new translation of tolstoys great anna signifies a literary event of the first magnitude tolstoy produced many drafts of anna karenina. Rather, it is a generalization, much like a philosophical or scientific argument. Here tolstoy means that for a family to be happy, several key aspects must be given such as good health of all family members, acceptable financial security, and. Its hard to find a novel more beloved and more firmly entrenched in the canon than anna karenina. These famous opening lines of anna karenina hearken back to the genre of the family novel, a type of work that had been popular in russia several decades. Anna karenina, novel by leo tolstoy, published in installments between 1875 and 1877 and considered one of the pinnacles of world literature. And with so many books to read, the competition between them is wast. It is not a narrative beginning that tells a story about particular characters. In anna karenina 187577 tolstoy applied these ideas to family life.
Anna karenina is a long book with a number of themes, characters, plots, and subplots, and it takes a certain amount of effort to appreciate what tolstoy has done here. Some people say anna karenina is the single greatest novel ever written, which makes about as much sense to me as trying to determine the worlds greatest color. Petersburg, and their mutual attraction intensifies as anna begins to mix with the freethinking social set of vronskys cousin betsy tverskaya. In treating translations of anna karenina, malcolm also has some unkind words for the schwartz translation. In the first drafts of anna karenina, tolstoy conceives a pretty woman who attracts men but is not a complete woman. Tolstoys masterpiece of realism, the great novel of the 19th century. An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story, he said. Tolstoys anna karenina upper elemmiddle school first. I will never understand the appeal of this sentence and why it is quoted so frequently.
These famous opening lines of anna karenina hearken back to the genre of the family novel, a type of work that had been popular in russia several decades earlier but was already outmoded by the 1870 s. First sentences, of course, have different functionsto amuse, to frighten, to mystifyand the mechanics a writer uses to achieve this connection vary from genre to genre. A very prominent theme deals with ethics and how to live a good life. In looking for the best opening lines, we took all of this into consideration. These are some of our favourite opening lines could you write one of your own. A socially inept but warmhearted landowner pursues his own visions instead of conforming to conventional views. Not mentioning pv by name, she starts by citing their first sentence. Anna karenina pevearvolokhonsky translation by leo. He could not at this date repent of the fact that he, a handsome, susceptible man of thirtyfour, was not in love with. The first lines of leo tolstoys 1873 novel are some of the most famous of all time. Dec 23, 2012 anna karenina is on lists of the top ten novels of all time get the new viking translation by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky. In this way the line takes on qualities of a greater philosophical statement. The adulteress and the philosopher head the vibrant cast of characters in anna karenina, tolstoys tumultuous tale of passion and selfdiscovery. The meaning of anna kareninas first line book riot.
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