Think of this – that the writer wrote alone, and the reader read alone, and they were alone with each other. True, the writer may have been alone also with Spenser's golden apples in the Faerie Queene, Proserpina's garden, glistening bright among t...
As McMasters raised the shotgun, the man removed his glasses. There were fields of stars where his eyes should have been. But they weren’t reflections of the night sky. These stars were a glimpse of a dim and distant future where the very laws of p...
The American critic Dale Peck, author of Hatchet Jobs (2004), argues that reviewing finds its true character in critical GBH such as Fischer's [review of Martin Amis's Yellow Dog]. It represents a return to the prehistoric origins of reviewing in Zoi...
Mowgli: Gee, cousin Louie, you're doing real good. King Louie: Now here's your part of the deal, cuz. Lay the secret on me of Man's Red Fire. Mowgli: But I don't know how to make fire. King Louie: [singing] Now don't try to kid me, Man Cub / I made a...
Prison Chaplain: Choice! The boy has not a real choice, has he? Self-interest, the fear of physical pain drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. The insincerity was clear to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a crea...
Colette de Montpelier: No, of course I don't live in the Alps. I went there for a visit, that's all. The Jackal: Climbing? Colette de Montpelier: Good Lord, no. I spent a day at the Cadet Academy in Barcelonette amongst a lot of jaundiced military ty...
Harry: Professor, why do the dementors affect me so? More than anyone else, I mean? Professor Lupin: Listen, dementors are among the foulest creatures to walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory until a person is left with...
Luna Lovegood: [about her father] We believe you, by the way. That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him, and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you and Dumbledore. Harry Potter: Thanks. Seems you're about the only one...
Alien Child: I hate women. All they do is cry all the time. Theodore: That's not true. You know men cry too. I actually like crying sometimes. It feels good. Alien Child: I didn't know you were a little pussy. Is that why you don't have a girlfriend?...
Lestat: The trick is not to think about it. See that one there? Widow St. Clair. She had the gorgeous young fop murder her husband. Louis: How do you know? Lestat: Read her thoughts. [Louis looks at him inquisitively] Lestat: *Read* her thoughts. Lou...
Jean Valjean: How have you come to grief in a place such as this? Fantine: M'sieur, don't mock me now, I pray. It's hard enough I've lost my pride. You let your foreman send me away - yes, you were there, and turned aside. I never did no wrong Jean V...
Ariel: But without my voice, how can I. Ursula: You'll have your looks. Your pretty face and don't underestimate the importance of "body language." Ha! [singing] Ursula: The men up there don't like a lot of blabber / They think a girl who gossips is ...
TV Anchorman: If witnesses are to be believed, there has been a child security breach for the first time in monster history. CDA Agent: We can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a human child here tonight. Witness #1: Well the kid flew right ov...
General Broulard: It would be a pity to lose your promotion before you get it. A promotion you have so very carefully planned for. Colonel Dax: Sir, would you like me to suggest what you can do with that promotion? General Broulard: [angry] Colonel D...
Jack Sparrow: You, sailor. Mr. Gibbs: Cotton, sir. Jack Sparrow: Mr. Cotton. Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? [pause] Jack Sparrow: Mr. Cotton. Answer, man. Mr. Gibbs...
Henry Luce: Now, I want them all to meet my people who will write their true stories, Naturally these stories will appear in Life magazine under their own bylines: For example, "by Betty Grissom", or "by Virgil I. Grisson", or... Gus Grissom: Gus! He...
[first lines] Mark Zuckerberg: Did you know there are more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States? Erica Albright: That can't possibly be true. Mark Zuckerberg: It is. Erica Albright: What...
Erica Albright: Is it true that they send a bus around to pick up girls who want to party with the next Fed chairman? Mark Zuckerberg: So you can see why it's so important to get in. Erica Albright: Okay, well, which is the easiest to get into? Mark ...
Obi-Wan: I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you. Anakin Skywalker: I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over. Chancellor Palpatine has showed me the true ways of the Force. Obi-Wan: Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil! The Sith a...
LaBoeuf: As I understand it, Chaney... or Chelmsford, as he called himshelf in Texas... shot the senator's dog. When the senator remonstrated, Chelmsford shot him as well. You could argue that the shooting of the dog was merely an instance of malum p...
[Mattie returns later to buy a pony from Col. Stonehill] Col. G. Stonehill: Do you entertain plans of ever leaving this city? Mattie Ross: Yes, I'm off early tomorrow morning for the Indian nation. Marshal Rooster Cogburn and I are going after the mu...
