--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted the chance to look again at very…" description: "\"I wanted the chance to look again at very famous stories and see what made them work well, whether there were any ways in which they could be improved...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/philip-pullman-525_chance_i-wanted-the-chance-to-look-again-at-ver_375336.png" --- # I wanted the chance to look again at very famous stories… ![“I wanted the chance to look again at very famous stories and see what made them work well, whether there were any ways in which they could be improved. Because the great thing about fairy tales and folk tales is that there is no authentic text.” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/philip-pullman-525_chance_i-wanted-the-chance-to-look-again-at-ver_375336.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/philip-pullman-525_chance_i-wanted-the-chance-to-look-again-at-ver_375336.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/philip-pullman-525_chance_i-wanted-the-chance-to-look-again-at-ver_375336.png) > “I wanted the chance to look again at very famous stories and see what made them work well, whether there were any ways in which they could be improved. Because the great thing about fairy tales and folk tales is that there is no authentic text.” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author seeks to re‑examine classic stories, analyzing their appeal and exploring possible improvements, noting that folk tales lack a definitive text. **In simple terms:** Re‑examining stories can reveal why they work. Key Takeaway Study and adapt classic narratives. Themes storytelling analysis creativity Mood inquisitive analytical Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - education - adaptation projects Key Concepts folklore narrative structure Questions to Reflect On - Which elements make a story timeless? - How can you honor tradition while innovating? A Different Perspective Improvement may alter original charm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Fairy tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tale/) [Fairy tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tales/) [Great things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-things/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) ## Related quotes > [The great thing about fairy tales and folk tales is that there is no authentic text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-great-thing-about-fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-is-that-there-is-no/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Because the great thing about fairy tales and folk tales is that there is no authentic text. It's not like the text of Paradise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/because-the-great-thing-about-fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-is-that/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Fairy tales and folk tales are for children and childlike people, not because they are little and inconsequential, but because they are as enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-esolen/fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-are-for-children-and-childlike-people-not/) [Anthony Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-esolen/) > [Fairy tales and folk tales have always played a role in my writing in one way or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linn-ullmann/fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-have-always-played-a-role-in-my-writing-in/) Linn Ullmann > [I also like the whole idea of fairy tales and folk tales being a woman's domain, considered a lesser domain at the time they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-also-like-the-whole-idea-of-fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-being-a/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Folk tales are the most authentic way of understanding a region, its legend and people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-basu-prasad/folk-tales-are-the-most-authentic-way-of-understanding-a-region-its/) [Shweta Basu Prasad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-basu-prasad/) > [When you're as famous as I am, stories take on a life of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wisdom/when-you-re-as-famous-as-i-am-stories-take-on-a-life-of-their-own/) [Norman Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-wisdom/) > [But also there are all the famous stories about the songs that have been rejected, but then went on to become hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-weil/but-also-there-are-all-the-famous-stories-about-the-songs-that-have/) [Cynthia Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-weil/) > [“I realize that for all my penchant in believing that there's more to the world than what we can see, that folk tales and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/i-realize-that-for-all-my-penchant-in-believing-that-there-s-more-to/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [The tricky or boastful gods of ancient myths and primitive folk tales are characters of the same kind that turn up in Faulkner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-tricky-or-boastful-gods-of-ancient-myths-and-primitive-folk-tales/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Folk tales are my favourite form of story telling. 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And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. 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With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. 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