The Romance of the Forest

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death. 



An epigraph can refer to an inscription on a building or monument or, in this case, a quote that appears at the beginning of a literary composition, which typically sets forward a theme of the work. The Romance of the Forest introduces each chapter with an epigraph that hints at the theme and sets the tone for the actions to follow.

In Volume I, where the atmosphere is dark and foreboding as the La Mottes and Adeline take up uncertain residence in the abbey, several of the epigraphs allude to the plays of William Shakespeare, especially Macbeth and King Lear, two of his most popular tragedies. The epigraphs in Volume II and parts of Volume III frequently quote from William Collins, a popular 18th-century English poet who was admired for blending the harmony of Neoclassical poetic forms with the sentiments that would later mark the Romantic aesthetic. This suits the romantic conflicts of those chapters as Adeline meets Theodore and also comes to the attention of the Marquis.