Experience the wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde through his most famous quotes. From the importance of love and forgiveness to the rebellion within every woman, delve into the captivating world of Wilde's words and be inspired to embrace your own unique voice.
Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright who gained popularity in London in the late 19th century. Known for his epigrams and plays, Wilde achieved great success with works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray. He was also infamous for his conviction for gross indecency, resulting in imprisonment and ultimately, his early death at the age of 46.
Born to Anglo-Irish parents in Dublin, Wilde showed exceptional talent and intellect from a young age. After studying at prestigious universities, he became associated with aestheticism and immersed himself in literary pursuits. With his sharp wit and extravagant style, Wilde became a prominent figure in social circles. He expressed his artistic ideas through various literary endeavors, including poetry, lectures, and journalism.
Wilde’s fascination with art led him to write dramas that combined aesthetic details with broader societal themes. Although faced with obstacles such as the prohibition of biblical subjects on English stages, he proved resilient and went on to become one of the most successful playwrights of his time. However, his fame took a dramatic turn when he prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for libel due to their connection through Lord Alfred Douglas. The trial resulted not only in Wilde dropping charges but also in his arrest and conviction for homosexual acts.
While serving his sentence, Wilde penned De Profundis, a reflective letter that delves into his spiritual journey during his trials. Upon release, he fled to France where he wrote what would be his last work - The Ballad of Reading Gaol - an introspective poem inspired by the harsh realities of prison life. Wilde never returned to Ireland or Britain before his untimely demise. Despite enduring personal turmoil and societal backlash, Oscar Wilde left an indelible mark on literature and continues to be remembered as one of history's most influential writers.
“Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Already Taken.”
Anonymous advertising copywriter for Menards chain of hardware stores (2000), according to Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/01/20/be-yourself
Misattributed
“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Context: Jack: That, my dear Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple.
Algernon: The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!
Act I
Often quoted as "The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."
“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”
Variant: Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
“I am not young enough to know everything.”
Variant: I am not young enough to know everything.
“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
The Portrait of Mr. W. H. http://www.planetmonk.com/wilde/portrait/wh01.html (1889)
In a letter to Ada Leverson [Sphinx] recorded in her book Letters To The Sphinx From Oscar Wilde and Reminiscences of the Author (1930)
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.”
Variant: The very essence of romance is uncertainty.
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
“I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.”
Variant: I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
A version of this quote was published anonymously in an insurance magazine in 1908 https://books.google.com/books?id=S2JJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA375&dq=%22others+whenever+they+go%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja94i3iaXLAhUY7mMKHW5fAGIQ6AEIJjAC#v=onepage&q=%22others%20whenever%20they%20go%22&f=false. The earliest attribution to Wilde was in 1955 https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=%22others+whenever+they+go%22+wilde#hl=en&tbs=cdr:1%2Ccd_min:1900%2Ccd_max:1999&tbm=bks&q=%22others+whenever+they+go+oscar+wilde+jive%22; no source in Wilde's writings has been found.
Disputed
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”
As quoted in Oscar Wilde : An Idler's Impression (1917) http://books.google.com/books?id=ddAVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=edgar+saltus+wilde&cd=3#v=snippet&q=satisfied&f=false by Edgar Saltus, p. 20
“I am too fond of reading books to care to write them.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”
Variant: Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six month.
“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”
Source: A Woman of No Importance
Mrs. Arbuthnot http://books.google.com/books?id=RHkWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Children+begin+by+loving+their+parents+after+a+time%22+%22they+judge+them+rarely+if+ever+do+they+forgive+them%22&pg=PA187#v=onepage, Act IV
A Woman of No Importance (1893)
Variant: Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune … to lose both seems like carelessness.”
Lady Bracknell, Act I
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Pt. I, st. 7
The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)
Source: The Ballad Of Reading Gaol
A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (1894)
Variant: One of the great secrets of life. Most people die of a sort of creeping common sense and discover too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“There is no sin except stupidity.”
Source: The Critic as Artist (1891), Part II
“The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.”
Source: The Soul of Man Under Socialism, and Selected Critical Prose
“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”
The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde, edited by Alvin Redman (1954)
“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Lord Goring, Act I
Variant: The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.
Source: An Ideal Husband (1895)
“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.”
Miss Prism, Act II
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
“Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
