There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of human nature.
Washington IrvingRead
The land of literature is a fairy land to those who view it at a distance, but, like all other landscapes, the charm fades on a nearer approach, and the thorns and briars become visible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Literature appears enchanting from afar, but closer examination reveals its complexities and challenges.
Washington Irving's quote suggests that while literature may seem magical and idyllic when viewed from a distance, a closer look uncovers the struggles and imperfections within it. The beauty of storytelling and writing can sometimes mask the hard work, difficulties, and flaws that are inherent in the creative process, just as a beautiful landscape may hide its own obstacles.
Themes
LiteratureBeautyChallengesWritingCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion, one might say, 'As Irving pointed out, literature can seem magical until we dig deeper.'
More from Washington Irving
All quotes →There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
Washington IrvingRead
Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
Washington IrvingRead
Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.
Washington IrvingRead
The easiest thing to do, whenever you fail, is to put yourself down by blaming your lack of ability for your misfortunes.
Washington IrvingRead
If I can, by a lucky chance, in these uneasy days, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sadness; if I can, how and then, prompt a happier view of human nature, and make my reader more in good humor with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, I shall not have written in vain.
Washington IrvingRead
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Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Anyone who has the temerity to write about Jane Austen is aware of [two] facts: first, that of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness; second, that there are twenty-five elderly gentlemen living in the neighbourhood of London who resent any slight upon her genius as if it were an insult to the chastity of their aunts.
Virginia WoolfRead
The power of literature does not lie in resonance with the particular but the way that the particular speaks to a broader, more universal truth.
Clint SmithRead
You could tell 'The Handmaid's Tale' from a male point of view. People have mistakenly felt that the women are oppressed, but power tends to organise itself in a pyramid. I could pick a male narrator from somewhere in that pyramid. It would interesting.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I spring from the pages into your arms-decease calls me forth.
Walt WhitmanRead
She liked books more than anything else, and was, in fact, always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead