Can someone explain this quote to me.?

Question

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." -

by -- Oscar Wilde

Answer 1

WIlde's statement is about the sensitive souls of those who perceive what others do not; such people may be seen as dreamy or detached by others, but the "dreamer" is often capable of making predictions or insights denied to the ordinary people (blinded by normality and the demands of the everyday).  Such insights do not guarantee the dreamer joy, but often entail hardship.  Such is the bittersweet nature of the gift.

Answer 2

To be honest, this quote is more like poetry than anythig else, so no firm conlcusions can be drawn from it, but that's the magic.

Let's see...

The 'dreamer' I think refers to innovative thinkers, artists, poets and the like, and the 'moonlight' is talking about the different view such people have on life: a more philosphical view, perhaps, and seeing as they can 'only' find their way by moonlight maybe it refers to the fact that such people will always be slightly detactched from normal society.

This is reaffirmed in the second part. These 'dreamers', being somehow on a sort of higher level than the rest of humanity, can see the evil in the world for what it is, because they have no rosecoloured glasses/blinkers that most normal people have.

To sum up, dreamers are people on a different wavelength to the rest of humans and who are both blessed and cursed because of it.

This is my sort of take on it, but it being poetry, really, you can think anything you want.

I hope I maybe helped you reach your personal understanding of it!

Answer 3

the first bit ; a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, i think it means a dreamer will only arise to greatness in his dreams at night and will never follow through with them in reality.

the second bit; his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. the punishment is the one thing holding him back for whatever reason and he see's that at dawn right before waking up.