Dickens introduction

In the beginning of a tale of two cities it starts out with;
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,"
How come it was all of these things? im writing an essay persuading one point or the other.

I think of this as being a big dramatic opening, a way perhaps, of saying this book has everything in it, it is BIG. It is true about today. We have huge problems now, and huge wonders as well.