Dickens Quote by Ursula K. Le Guin
““I know that I am going to meet a personal variation on reality; a partial view of reality. But I know also that by that partiality, that distancing from the shared experience, it will be new: a revelation. It will be a vision, a more or less powerful or haunting dream. A space-voyage through somebody else's psychic abysses. It will fall short of tragedy, because tragedy is the truth, and truth is what the very great artists, the absolute novelists, tell. It will not be truth; but it will be imagination. Truth is best. For it encompasses tragedy and partakes of the eternal joy. But very few of us know it; the best we can do is recognize it. Imagination - to me - is the next best. For it partakes of Creation, which is one aspect of the eternal joy. All the rest is either Politics or Pedantry, or Mainstream Fiction, may it rest in peace.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969
The quote contrasts truth and imagination, suggesting that while truth holds tragedy and eternal joy, imagination offers a creative, revelatory experience that transcends ordinary perception.
In simple terms: Imagination offers a creative, truth‑bound revelation.
Key Takeaway
Value imagination as a path to deeper insight.
Themes
creativity
truth
imagination
art
philosophy
Mood
contemplative
inspired
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- artistic creation
- literary analysis
- personal reflection
- spiritual exploration
Key Concepts
existentialism
aesthetic theory
cognitive perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How does imagination shape your understanding of reality?
- When is truth more essential than imagination?
A Different Perspective
Imagination cannot replace factual truth in critical decision‑making.
