Short on words - long on meaning.

[derekpara]

Some great writers have the wonderful ability to compress a wealth of meaning into very few words. Here's one of my favourite examples:

' Now came still evening on'

From Paradise Lost (John Milton)

When I think about those few words, in the context of the book, the sentence conjures up feelings of expectancy, menace, inevitability, even mortality.

Care to add other examples ?

[JK2]

The opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens. - It was the best of times, it was the worst of times etc etc Wonderful.

[Clanad]

�A sky as pure as water bathed the stars and brought them out.�

Antoine de Saint Exup�ry, Southern Mail

Saint Exupe'ry was a famous early aviator who also had a fantastic flare for describing the mystique of flight... When France was still capable of producing such men...

[luckyeight]

I actually think pretty much everything Milton wrote has this impact.... Like no other writer, he compresses so much into a very few words, which is why his writing is so rich and epic and stunning. Thanks for your post!