UK TeX FAQ -- question label epigraph

### Typesetting epigraphs

Epigraphs are those neat quotations that authors put at the start of chapters (or even at the end of chapters: Knuth puts things at the ends of chapters of the TeXbook).

Typesetting them is a bit of a fiddle, but not impossible to do for yourself. However, the epigraph package will do the job for you, even in situations where it's particularly nasty to get right.

The package defines an `\``epigraph` command, for creating a single epigraph (as at the top of a chapter):

>     \chapter{The Social Life of Rabbits}
>     \epigraph{Oh!  My ears and whiskers!}%
>              {Lewis Carroll}

and an epigraphs environment, for entering more than one epigraph consecutively, in a sort of list introduced by `\``qitem` commands:

>     \begin{epigraphs}
>     \qitem{What I tell you three times is true}%
>           {Lewis Carroll}
>     \qitem{Oh listen do, I'm telling you!}%
>           {A.A. Milne}
>     \end{epigraphs}

The `\``epigraphhead` command enables you to place your epigraph above a chapter header:

>     \setlength{\unitlength}{1pt}
>     ...
>     \chapter{The Social Life of Rabbits}
>     \epigraphhead[<distance>]{%
>       \epigraph{Oh!  My ears and whiskers!}%
>                {Lewis Carroll}%
>     }

The <distance> says how far above the chapter heading the epigraph is to go; it's expressed in terms of the `\``unitlength` that's used in the `picture` environment; the package's author recommends `70pt`.

The package also offers various tricks for adjusting the layout of chapter header (necessary if you've found a hugely long quotation for an `\``epigraphhead`), for patching the bibliography, for patching `\``part` pages, and so on. (Some of these suggested patches lead you through writing your own package...)

The memoir class offers all the facilities of the epigraph package. The Koma-script classes have commands `\``setchapterpreamble` and `\``dictum` to provide these facilities.

`epigraph.sty`
  macros/latex/contrib/epigraph (zip, browse)
`KOMA script bundle`
  macros/latex/contrib/koma-script (zip, browse)
`memoir.cls`
  macros/latex/contrib/memoir (zip, browse)

This question on the Web: http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=epigraph