Sentences can bring both joy and pain. The joy brought from a well crafted sentence lasts far longer than the pain a poorly written one inflicts on readers. Even when a beautiful sentence helps readers feel the pain present in the work, the contentment felt when remembering the beauty of the sentence far outweighs the momentary fleetingness of the emotion. It is the word choice, the flow, the structure, and the skill of the author that all combine to create something truly beautiful. We all have sentences we love. Certain elements draw each of us to different authors and sentences, much like how some prefer mountains over the ocean, but we all can appreciate when the written word is crafted with such skill and grace to elicit a sense of beauty. We wrote a post about ten of the most beautiful sentences in literature nearly three years ago now. Since sentences are subjective, we thought it was time for another round. So, without further ado, here are ten of my favorite sentences in literature to add to the list.
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“We are all human, aren’t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -
“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.” — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
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The quality of mercy is not strained, /It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:/It blessed him that gives and him that takes. — Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
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“Forever - is composed of Nows -” — Emily Dickinson, 690
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“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
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“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” — A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh -
“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer, and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
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“She had the perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very, dangerous to live even one day.” — Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
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“And all I loved, I loved alone.” —Edgar Allan Poe, Alone
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“Keep in mind that many people have died for their beliefs; it’s actually quite common. The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe.” —Christopher Paolini, Eragon
