- Euro 2024 semi-final news, kick-off 8pm BST in Munich
- Golden Boot | Player guide | And you can email Daniel
Style and substance are often presented as dichotomies, but in reality the relationship between them is far closer – so close that almost necessarily, each brings with it the other. So we might criticise Oscar Wilde, say, for bestowing upon us many more flourishes than messages … but equally we might realise that the flourishes are the messages, him advising us how to enjoy our lives. Similarly, we might complain that Jeffrey Archer, say, is not the greatest prose stylist of all time … or we might remind ourselves that sustaining an exciting story is a style all of its own.
So to cast today’s little tussle as a battle of style versus substance does not do justice to what we’re about to see – and how ludicrous it feels to be writing words to set that up when the simple fact of it, Spain v Italy, European Championship semi-finals, says more than any smartarse writer ever could. But here we are, so here we are.
Continue reading…Euro 2024 semi-final news, kick-off 8pm BST in MunichGolden Boot | Player guide | And you can email DanielStyle and substance are often presented as dichotomies, but in reality the relationship between them is far closer – so close that almost necessarily, each brings with it the other. So we might criticise Oscar Wilde, say, for bestowing upon us many more flourishes than messages … but equally we might realise that the flourishes are the messages, him advising us how to enjoy our lives. Similarly, we might complain that Jeffrey Archer, say, is not the greatest prose stylist of all time … or we might remind ourselves that sustaining an exciting story is a style all of its own.So to cast today’s little tussle as a battle of style versus substance does not do justice to what we’re about to see – and how ludicrous it feels to be writing words to set that up when the simple fact of it, Spain v Italy, European Championship semi-finals, says more than any smartarse writer ever could. But here we are, so here we are. Continue reading…
