Creatures Quote by William H. Gass
“We must take our sentences seriously, which means we must understand them philosophically, and the odd thing is that the few who do, who take them with utter sober seriousness, the utter sober seriousness of right-wing parsons and political saviors, the owners of Pomeranians, are the liars who want to be believed, the novelists and poets, who know that the creatures they imagine have no other being than the sounding syllables which the reader will speak into his own weary and distracted head. There are no magic words. To say the words is magical enough.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Tunnel by William H. Gass, 1995
Language shapes reality; taking sentences seriously reveals how words construct meaning and expose pretensions.
In simple terms: Words shape thought; seriousness reveals hidden motives.
Key Takeaway
Read words critically and question authority.
Themes
language
philosophy
truth
authority
literature
Mood
reflective
critical
thoughtful
Type
analytical
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- literary criticism
- academic discourse
- personal reflection
- media analysis
- political rhetoric
Key Concepts
constructivism
semantic analysis
authorial intent
Questions to Reflect On
- How does taking a sentence seriously change its impact?
- What responsibilities do writers have for their words?
A Different Perspective
The claim that only a few can truly understand language may overlook everyday readers' insights.
![“Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this [step by step, from humans to apes to monkeys to lemurs] - leading us insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures, from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/thomas-huxley-1183_animal_perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us_3051.jpg)
