To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
Joan DidionRead
Grammar is a piano I play by ear.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Grammar is intuitive and can be understood without formal training, much like playing music by ear.
In this quote, Joan Didion uses the metaphor of playing the piano by ear to suggest that grammar, much like music, can be learned through instinct and personal touch rather than strict rules. This reflects the idea that language can be flexible and creative, inviting a more organic approach to writing and communication.
Themes
GrammarLanguageIntuitionWritingExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, I referenced Didion's quote to emphasize the importance of intuitive writing.
More from Joan Didion
All quotes βThe truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Joan DidionRead
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
Joan DidionRead
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
Joan DidionRead
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Joan DidionRead
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Joan DidionRead
Similar quotes
The school has always been the most important means of transferring the wealth of tradition from one generation to the next. This applies today in an even higher degree than in former times, for through modern development of economic life, the family
Albert EinsteinRead
As for literature β to introduce children to literature is to install them in a very rich and glorious kingdom, to bring a continual holiday to their doors, to lay before them a feast exquisitely served. But they must learn to know literature by being familiar with it from the very first. A child's intercourse must always be with good books, the best that we can find.
Charlotte MasonRead
You can't have a sustainable US economy without a great education system. Teach students to do the job right. You don't have an innovative economy unless you have a great education.
Walter IsaacsonRead
If you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
I cannot imagine life without books any more than I can imagine life without breathing.
Terry BrooksRead