First Pages

First Pages, Volume 1, is a scholarly exploration of titology, the study of how a book title establishes the thematic development of the text. Giancarlo Maiorino provides a theoretical framework for understanding titles as foundations for literary criticism rather than mere labels. This work of literary criticism and semiotics examines how specific titles function as frontispieces that offer perspective and demand interpretation from the reader.

The author analyzes a diverse range of global texts from the modern era through postmodernism, including works like Ulysses and Don Quixote. By focusing on categories such as rhetoric, composition, and communication studies, First Pages demonstrates how titles connect a reader to the cultural and literary context of a piece. This volume serves as a comprehensive guide to the relationship between the title page and the overall structure of a written work.