Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Literature engages and captivates readers, whereas journalism can often be inaccessible or difficult to appreciate.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde highlights the contrast between literature and journalism, suggesting that while literature has the power to resonate with and be cherished by readers, journalism often fails to captivate its audience, making it unreadable for many. Wilde's observation points to the idea that literary works are crafted with artistry and emotional depth, whereas journalism may prioritize factual reporting over literary quality, sometimes resulting in a lack of appreciation from the public.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the role of media in society, this quote can emphasize the artistic value of literary works.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes βLondon is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Similar quotes
Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.
Fiction is history, human history, or it is nothing.
One does not argue about The Wind in the Willows.
There were thousands of brown books in leather bindings, some chained to the book-shelves and others propped against each other as if they had had too much to drink and did not really trust themselves. These gave out a smell of must and solid brownness which was most secure.
Is 'The Wind in the Willows' a children's book? Is 'Alice in Wonderland?' Is 'Treasure Island?' These are masterpieces which we read with pleasure as children, but with how much more pleasure when we are grown-up.
And now may the blessing of God rest upon all men. I have told unto them the Epic of Kings, and the Epic of Kings is come to a close, and the tale of their deeds is ended.