What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Literature is like any other trade; you will never sell anything unless you go to the right shop.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success in literature, as in any profession, requires understanding your audience and market.
In this quote, George Bernard Shaw highlights the importance of targeting the right audience to achieve success in literature. Just as a merchant must know where to sell their goods for it to be profitable, writers must identify and connect with the right readers and markets to ensure their work resonates and finds success.
Themes
LiteratureSuccessAudienceMarketWriting
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop about writing careers, this quote could emphasize the importance of understanding your readers.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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