What does Roald Dahl's motto mean?

Answer 1

Roald Dahl's motto is:

My candle burns at both ends

it will not last the night.

But oh my foes and ah my friends,

it gives a lovely light!

It means QUALITY not QUANTITY.

For example,

"My candle burns at both ends" = The candle won't burn for very long seeing as it burns from both ends.

"it will not last the night." = The wax will get shorter very quickly so it will only light for a little bit.

"But oh my foes and ah my friends," = He's telling everyone and making it clear that -

"it gives a lovely light!" = it's quality is great.

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Roald Dahl isn't ONLY talking about the candle. He is trying to spread a message that if something is short but enjoyable, it is better than something long and boring.

For example:

Your teacher asks you to write a story.

You and your friend write a story each.

You both finish after half an hour.

You look at your friend's work. It's 2 whole pages.

You look at your work which is only 3/4 of a page. (So it hasn't even reached a page yet).

You think "My friend's story is so long, he's definitely going to get a better mark than me!"

You finally receive your marks from your teacher.

You get an A whereas your friend gets a D.

How comes?

Well, like Roald Dahl said, it's quality not quantity. You did better than your friend because although your story was short, it was full of writing devices. However, your friend just wrote a boring, rubbish long story without any writing devices.

So remember this:

My candle burns at both ends

it will not last the night.

But oh my foes and ah my friends,

it gives a lovely light!

It means QUALITY not QUANTITY.