If certain books are to be termed 'immigrant fiction,' what do we call the rest? Native fiction? Puritan fiction? This distinction doesn't agree with me.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding mythology is essential to fully appreciate the depth of literature.
Thomas Bulfinch highlights the importance of mythology in understanding and appreciating literature. He suggests that a significant portion of our elegant language and literary works is rooted in mythological references, and without that knowledge, readers may miss out on rich layers of meaning and insight within the texts.
Themes
MythologyLiteratureUnderstandingAppreciationElegance
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about literary analysis, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of understanding mythological references.
Similar quotes
Every word a woman writes changes the story of the world, revises the official version.
Carolyn SeeRead
I believe that all novels, ... deal with character, and that it is to express character β not to preach doctrines, sing songs, or celebrate the glories of the British Empire, that the form of the novel, so clumsy, verbose, and undramatic, so rich, elastic, and alive, has been evolved ... The great novelists have brought us to see whatever they wish us to see through some character. Otherwise they would not be novelists, but poet, historians, or pamphleteers.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
You may translate books of science exactly. ... The beauties of poetry cannot be preserved in any language except that in which it was originally written.
Samuel JohnsonRead
As a reader I loathe introductions...Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation, they frustrate curiosity.
Harper LeeRead
In novels, and American novels in particular, it's not just about redemption, it's about forward movement and healing oneself. Americans are very big on getting better.
Hanya YanagiharaRead