The title of a book, or any other published text or work of art, is a name for the work which is usually chosen by the author. A title can be used to identify the work, to put it in context, to convey a minimal summary of its contents, and to pique the reader's curiosity.
Some works supplement the title with a subtitle. Texts without separate titles may be referred to by their incipit (first word), especially those produced before the practice of titling became popular. During development, a work may be referred to by a temporary working title. A piece of legislation may have both a short title and a long title. In library cataloging, a uniform title is assigned to a work whose title is ambiguous.
In book design, the title is typically shown on the spine, the front cover, and the title page.
History
The first books, such as the Five Books of Moses, in Hebrew Torah, did not have titles. They were referred to by their incipit: Be-reshit, "In the beginning" (Genesis), Va-yikra, "And He [God] called" (Leviticus). The concept of a title is a step in the development of the modern book.
In Ancient Greek Literature, books have one-word titles that are not the initial words: new words, but following grammatical principles. The Iliad is the story of Ilion (Troy), the Trojan War; the Odysseia (Odyssey) that of Odysseus (Ulysses). The first history book in the modern sense, Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, had no more title than Historiai (Histories or Stories).
When books take the form of a scroll or roll, as in the case of the Torah or the Five Megillot, it is impractical to single out an initial page. The first page, rolled up, would not be fully visible unless unrolled. For that reason, scrolls are marked with external identifying decorations.
A book with pages is not a scroll, but a codex, a stack of pages bound together through binding on one edge. Codices (plural of "codex") are much more recent than scrolls, and replaced them because codices are easier to use. The title "page" is a consequence of a bound book having pages. Until books had covers (another development in the history of the book), the top page was highly visible. To make the content of the book easy to ascertain, there came the custom of printing on the top page a title, a few words in larger letters than the body, and thus readable from a greater distance.
As the book evolved, most books became the product of an author. Early books, like those of the Old Testament, did not have authors. Gradually the concept took hold—Homer is a complicated case—but authorship of books, all of which were —or were believed to be— non-fiction, was not the same as, since the Western Renaissance, writing a novel. The concept of intellectual property did not exist; copying another person's work was once praiseworthy. The invention of printing changed the economics of the book, making it possible for the owner of a manuscript to make money selling printed copies. The concept of authorship became much more important. The name of the author would also go on the title page.
Gradually more and more information was added to the title page: the location printed, the printer, at later dates the publisher, and the date. Sometimes a book's title continued at length, becoming an advertisement for the book which a possible purchaser would see in a bookshop (see example).
Typographical conventions
Most English-language style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, the Modern Language Association Style Guide, and APA style recommend that the titles of longer or complete works such as books, movies, plays, albums, and periodicals be written in italics, like: the New York Times is a major American newspaper. These guides recommend that the titles of shorter or subsidiary works, such as articles, chapters, and poems, be placed written within quotation marks, like: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem by Robert Frost. The AP Stylebook recommends that book titles be written in quotation marks.[citation needed]Underlining is used where italics are not possible, such as on a typewriter or in handwriting.
Titles may also be written in title case, with most or all words capitalized. This is true both when the title is written in or on the work in question, and when mentioned in other writing. The original author or publisher may deviate from this for stylistic purposes, and other publications might or might not replicate the original capitalization when mentioning the work. Quotes, italics, and underlines are generally not used in the title on the work itself.
See also
- Headline – Text at the top of a newspaper article
References
- Levin, Harry (October 1977), "The Title as a Literary Genre", Modern Language Review, 72 (4): xxiii–xxxvi, doi:10.2307/3724776, JSTOR 3724776.
- "Do You Underline Book Titles?". May 29, 2012.
- "APA Formatting and Style Guide". Purdue OWL. March 1, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
- "Which Titles Are Italicized and Which Are Enclosed in Quotation Marks?".
Further reading
- Adams, Hazard (Autumn 1987), "Titles, Titling, and Entitlement to", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 46 (1): 7–21, doi:10.2307/431304, JSTOR 431304
- Adorno, Theodor (1984), "Titres", Notes sur la littérature, Paris
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ferry, Anne (1996), The Title to the Poem, Stanford University Press, ISBN 9780804735179
- Fisher, John (December 1984), "Entitling", Critical Inquiry, 11 (2): 286–298, doi:10.1086/448289, S2CID 224800904
- Genette, Gérard; Crampé, Bernard (Summer 1988), "Structure and Functions of the Title in Literature", Critical Inquiry, 14 (4): 692–720, doi:10.1086/448462, JSTOR 1343668, S2CID 161111244
- Hélin, Maurice (September–December 1956), "Les livres et leurs titres", Marche Romane, 6: 139–152
- Hoek, Leo H. (1981), La marque du titre: Dispositifs sémiotiques d'une pratique textuelle, Approaches to Semiotics [AS], vol. 60
- Kellman, Steven G. (Spring 1975), "Dropping Names: the Poetics of Titles", Criticism, 17 (2): 152–167
- Levin, Harry (October 1977), "The Title as a Literary Genre", The Modern Language Review, 72 (4): xxiii–xxxvi, doi:10.2307/3724776, JSTOR 3724776
- Levinson, Jerrold (Autumn 1985), "Titles", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 44 (1): 29–39, doi:10.2307/430537, JSTOR 430537
- Mulvihill, John (April 1998), "For Public Consumption: The Origin of Titling the Short Poem", The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 97 (2): 190–204, JSTOR 27711639
- Oliver, Revilo P. (1951), "The First Medicean MS of Tacitus and the Titulature of Ancient Books", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 82: 232–261, doi:10.2307/283436, JSTOR 283436
- Shevlin, Eleanor F. (1999), "'To Reconcile Book and Title, and Make 'em Kin to One Another': The Evolution of the Title's Contractual Functions", Book History, 2: 42–77, doi:10.1353/bh.1999.0011, S2CID 143640018
- Sullivan, Ceri (July 2007), "Disposable Elements? Indications of Genre in Early Modern Titles", The Modern Language Review, 102 (3): 641–653, doi:10.2307/20467425, JSTOR 20467425, S2CID 163420249
- Vardi, Amiel D. (May 1993), "Why Attic Nights? Or What's in a Name?", The Classical Quarterly, New Series, 43 (1): 298–301, doi:10.1017/S0009838800044360, S2CID 170798738
- Wilsmore, S. J. (Summer 1987), "The Role of Titles in Identifying Literary Works", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 45 (4): 403–408, doi:10.2307/431331, JSTOR 431331
The title of a book or any other published text or work of art is a name for the work which is usually chosen by the author A title can be used to identify the work to put it in context to convey a minimal summary of its contents and to pique the reader s curiosity Some works supplement the title with a subtitle Texts without separate titles may be referred to by their incipit first word especially those produced before the practice of titling became popular During development a work may be referred to by a temporary working title A piece of legislation may have both a short title and a long title In library cataloging a uniform title is assigned to a work whose title is ambiguous In book design the title is typically shown on the spine the front cover and the title page HistoryThe first books such as the Five Books of Moses in Hebrew Torah did not have titles They were referred to by their incipit Be reshit In the beginning Genesis Va yikra And He God called Leviticus The concept of a title is a step in the development of the modern book In Ancient Greek Literature books have one word titles that are not the initial words new words but following grammatical principles The Iliad is the story of Ilion Troy the Trojan War the Odysseia Odyssey that of Odysseus Ulysses The first history book in the modern sense Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War had no more title than Historiai Histories or Stories When books take the form of a scroll or roll as in the case of the Torah or the Five Megillot it is impractical to single out an initial page The first page rolled up would not be fully visible unless unrolled For that reason scrolls are marked with external identifying decorations Very long title of a pamphlet 1838 A book with pages is not a scroll but a codex a stack of pages bound together through binding on one edge Codices plural of codex are much more recent than scrolls and replaced them because codices are easier to use The title page is a consequence of a bound book having pages Until books had covers another development in the history of the book the top page was highly visible To make the content of the book easy to ascertain there came the custom of printing on the top page a title a few words in larger letters than the body and thus readable from a greater distance As the book evolved most books became the product of an author Early books like those of the Old Testament did not have authors Gradually the concept took hold Homer is a complicated case but authorship of books all of which were or were believed to be non fiction was not the same as since the Western Renaissance writing a novel The concept of intellectual property did not exist copying another person s work was once praiseworthy The invention of printing changed the economics of the book making it possible for the owner of a manuscript to make money selling printed copies The concept of authorship became much more important The name of the author would also go on the title page Gradually more and more information was added to the title page the location printed the printer at later dates the publisher and the date Sometimes a book s title continued at length becoming an advertisement for the book which a possible purchaser would see in a bookshop see example Typographical conventionsMost English language style guides including the Chicago Manual of Style the Modern Language Association Style Guide and APA style recommend that the titles of longer or complete works such as books movies plays albums and periodicals be written in italics like the New York Times is a major American newspaper These guides recommend that the titles of shorter or subsidiary works such as articles chapters and poems be placed written within quotation marks like Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a poem by Robert Frost The AP Stylebook recommends that book titles be written in quotation marks citation needed Underlining is used where italics are not possible such as on a typewriter or in handwriting Titles may also be written in title case with most or all words capitalized This is true both when the title is written in or on the work in question and when mentioned in other writing The original author or publisher may deviate from this for stylistic purposes and other publications might or might not replicate the original capitalization when mentioning the work Quotes italics and underlines are generally not used in the title on the work itself See alsoHeadline Text at the top of a newspaper articleReferencesLevin Harry October 1977 The Title as a Literary Genre Modern Language Review 72 4 xxiii xxxvi doi 10 2307 3724776 JSTOR 3724776 Do You Underline Book Titles May 29 2012 APA Formatting and Style Guide Purdue OWL March 1 2013 Retrieved April 2 2016 Which Titles Are Italicized and Which Are Enclosed in Quotation Marks Further readingAdams Hazard Autumn 1987 Titles Titling and Entitlement to The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 46 1 7 21 doi 10 2307 431304 JSTOR 431304 Adorno Theodor 1984 Titres Notes sur la litterature Paris a href wiki Template Citation title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Ferry Anne 1996 The Title to the Poem Stanford University Press ISBN 9780804735179 Fisher John December 1984 Entitling Critical Inquiry 11 2 286 298 doi 10 1086 448289 S2CID 224800904 Genette Gerard Crampe Bernard Summer 1988 Structure and Functions of the Title in Literature Critical Inquiry 14 4 692 720 doi 10 1086 448462 JSTOR 1343668 S2CID 161111244 Helin Maurice September December 1956 Les livres et leurs titres Marche Romane 6 139 152 Hoek Leo H 1981 La marque du titre Dispositifs semiotiques d une pratique textuelle Approaches to Semiotics AS vol 60 Kellman Steven G Spring 1975 Dropping Names the Poetics of Titles Criticism 17 2 152 167 Levin Harry October 1977 The Title as a Literary Genre The Modern Language Review 72 4 xxiii xxxvi doi 10 2307 3724776 JSTOR 3724776 Levinson Jerrold Autumn 1985 Titles The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 44 1 29 39 doi 10 2307 430537 JSTOR 430537 Mulvihill John April 1998 For Public Consumption The Origin of Titling the Short Poem The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 97 2 190 204 JSTOR 27711639 Oliver Revilo P 1951 The First Medicean MS of Tacitus and the Titulature of Ancient Books Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 82 232 261 doi 10 2307 283436 JSTOR 283436 Shevlin Eleanor F 1999 To Reconcile Book and Title and Make em Kin to One Another The Evolution of the Title s Contractual Functions Book History 2 42 77 doi 10 1353 bh 1999 0011 S2CID 143640018 Sullivan Ceri July 2007 Disposable Elements Indications of Genre in Early Modern Titles The Modern Language Review 102 3 641 653 doi 10 2307 20467425 JSTOR 20467425 S2CID 163420249 Vardi Amiel D May 1993 Why Attic Nights Or What s in a Name The Classical Quarterly New Series 43 1 298 301 doi 10 1017 S0009838800044360 S2CID 170798738 Wilsmore S J Summer 1987 The Role of Titles in Identifying Literary Works The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 45 4 403 408 doi 10 2307 431331 JSTOR 431331
