"A Tale of Two Cities" Still Owns the Title Of Greatest Opening Line In Literature

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” That’s right, Charles Dickens is still the GOAT when it comes to literary openings, thanks to the absolute banger of a sentence that kicks off A Tale of Two Cities. But while we all know how it starts, there’s a lot more to love about the line.

A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859, but it is primarily set a generation earlier, at the peak of the French Revolution.

The truth is, the plot of the book isn’t widely remembered these days. The opening line of the opening line, however, is almost universally recognized. Let’s dig into why.

Why "Best Of Times/Worst Of Times" Sticks In Our Heads 150+ Years After "Two Cities" Was Published

The Lyrical Opener To A Tale Of Two Cities, Unpacked

The opening sentence of A Tale of Two Cities actually features 119 words total. We'll get to most of them in a minute. What everybody knows are the first twelve words. Or, to put it another way, 10% of the whole sentence. Say it with us:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

So, for starters: what makes this line so iconic?

It's a lyrical contradiction. The kind you can really only get away with in fiction. It immediately establishes a subjective, personal, relatable quality to the novel's narration. There's a nostalgic vibe to it that is very accessible. Pretty much anyone can relate to the idea that "back in the day, the highs were high, and the lows were low."

Which is what Dickens is saying here. That every era contains the best and worst of life. That every life contains the best and worst of life. This sentiment, combined with the rhythm of the line, is what has etched these words into our collective cultural memory. But what makes Two Cities' opening sentence truly awesome is what we don't remember.

The Full Opening Line Of "Tale Of Two Cities" Is A Mesmerizing Mess Of Contradictions

Why The Unedited Sentence Is Dickens' Masterpiece, Explained

Now, let's take a look at the whole thing. A Tale of Two Cities' full, unabridged opening sentence. It goes like this:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

To start, Dickens goes on a run, extending the lyrical cadence of the first dozen words through six more couplets of curated contradictions. We'll get to the final part of the sentence shortly, but first, more on these couplets.

Everything from "best of times" through "winter of despair" has a remarkable symmetry. Each of these pieces of the sentence contains six words. This produces a poetic rhythm. It's a deliberate and extremely effective use of repetition. And then just when the repetition risks becoming too repetitive, Dickens changes it up.

Technically speaking, a modern editor might say "Charles, this is great, but let's break these up into separate sentences." "It was the season of Light. Period." "It was the season of Darkness. Period." And thematically, what the author was going for would still work. But the rhythm wouldn't be the same. Arguably, it wouldn't be as captivating.

"A Tale Of Two Cities" Is A Revolutionary Story With Themes That Still Resonate Today

Dickens' Novel Reckons With The French Revolution; Why That Still Matters

A Tale of Two Cities' opening sentence takes an important turn when it breaks its own pattern, and introduces the first-person plural. Again, this is a place where the sentence could be cleaved in two. It could end with "despair," and the second sentence of the book could start with "We." Instead, Dickens plows right ahead.

The change makes things personal. Two Cities' narrator is using the collective "we," but it still has the effect of wrapping the reader up in things. The narrator isn't just describing a bygone era. The use of "we" makes it personal. Consequently, the reader isn't just observing from a distance. We're part of the "we" too.

"We were all going direct to heaven," Dickens writes. And also "we were all going direct the other way." Even this bit of self-censorship adds something to the sentence's charm. Especially because this is where the line breaks again, and becomes a bit trickier to navigate. Still, the last chunk is equally important to what makes the line timeless. And timely.

The End Of "Two Cities" Opening Line Holds The Key To Understanding The Novel

Unpacking The Tricky Part Of Dickens' Greatest Sentence

A Tale of Two Cities is set during the French Revolution. It's a love story, but it's also about revolutionary politics, social upheaval, and the personal turmoil that comes with all of that. The Revolution isn't just a backdrop to the book. It is a critical part of the novel's plot.

The book's title itself references the disparity between 1790s London and Paris. It might seem far away to modern readers, but in many ways, the last 200+ years have all been fallout from the French Revolution. Which is why when Dickens writes, "the period was so far like the present period​​​​​​​," it hits just as hard in 2026 as in 1859.

But what about that last bit? Let's look at it again in isolation:

...some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Here, Dickens is saying that the era Two Cities takes place in was defined by extremism. It can only be understood in terms of extreme polarity. And the same, the narrator notes, goes the modern era. That's a strikingly relevant sentiment 167 years later.

Is this part of the sentence clunky compared to the first part? Sure. But if you're willing to sit with it, it's the most important part. It's the key to understanding everything that comes before it in the sentence, and also everything that follows in A Tale of Two Cities. Which makes it extremely impressive.

"Two Cities" Opening Is A Messy, Beautiful Literary Achievement That Still Has No Equal

The Best Of All Time, No Contradiction There

The opening sentence of A Tale of Two Cities stands the test of time for a lot of reasons. It's a testament to literary messiness, in a way. As we've discussed, a sentence like this today would have a hard time dodging the editorial machete. Unless its author could argue the significance of every clause, every creative choice.

Even looking at Two Cities' opener now, it's easy to diagram how purposeful it is. Which we've done. But the technical brilliance of a sentence is rarely what makes it an unforgettable classic. Two Cities' reputation as the GOAT first line in literary history is staked on its energy, and its resonant meaning.

The first 12 words alone could stand among the heavyweight of literary openers, but the rest of the sentence assures Dickens the title. Even if you don't go back and read A Tale of Two Cities after this, which you should, at least take a moment to marvel at the greatness of its opening 119 words.

What do you think, readers? Are you tempted to go back to A Tale of Two Cities? Or, do you think there's a better opening line in literature?