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Oscar Wilde Quotes
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812 Quotes on Love, Forgiveness, Rebellion, and Embracing Your Unique Voice

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.

✵ 16. October 1854 – 30. November 1900
Oscar Wilde photo
Oscar Wilde: 812 quotes1011 likes

Oscar Wilde Quotes

“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.”

Oscar Wilde

A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (1894)

“I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Jack, Act III
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

“What men call the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul.”

Oscar Wilde book A House of Pomegranates

Source: A House of Pomegranates

“It's the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.”

Oscar Wilde

Source: Miscellaneous Aphorisms; The Soul of Man

“You told me you had destroyed it."

"I was wrong. It has destroyed me.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“Lord Illingworth: The Book of Life begins with a man and a woman in a garden.
Mrs. Allonby: It ends with Revelations.”

Oscar Wilde A Woman of No Importance

Act I
A Woman of No Importance (1893)

“Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.”

Oscar Wilde

“As for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Variant: I can believe anything provided it is incredible.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“And alien tears will fill for him
Pity's long-broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn.”

Oscar Wilde

Pt. IV, st. 23 -- Wilde's epitaph
The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings

“Genius lasts longer than beauty”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“But she is happiest alone. She is happiest alone.”

Oscar Wilde A Woman of No Importance

Source: A Woman of No Importance

“I find him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colours.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“The number of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Algernon, Act I
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

“I don’t write this letter to put bitterness into your heart, but to pluck it out of mine. For my own sake I must forgive you.”

Oscar Wilde book De Profundis

Source: De Profundis

“Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.”

Oscar Wilde

“I don't play accurately--any one can play accurately--but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“The only horrible thing in the world is ennui.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“Dear little Swallow,’ said the Prince, ‘you tell me of marvelous things, but more marvelous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery.”

Oscar Wilde book The Happy Prince and Other Tales

Source: The Happy Prince and Other Tales

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.”

Oscar Wilde

Variant: The best way to make children good is to make them happy.

“I never saw anybody take so long to dress, and with such little result.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Gwendolen, Act II
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

“Truth, in the matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.”

Oscar Wilde

The Critic as Artist (1891), Part I

“Create yourself. Be yourself your poem.”

Oscar Wilde

“Hesitation of any kind is a sign of mental decay in the young, of physical weakness in the old.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“I never take any notice to what common people say, and I never interfere with what charming people do.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“Love is not fashionable anymore; the poets have killed it.”

Oscar Wilde

Source: The Complete Fairy Tales

“Oh, don't cough, Ernest. When one is dictating one should speak fluently and not cough. Besides, I don't know how to spell a cough.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“Life cheats us with shadows.
We ask it for pleasure.
It gives it to us with bitterness
and disappointment in its train.”

Oscar Wilde

“Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.”

Oscar Wilde

Lady Bracknell, Act I.
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
Context: I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.

“I love scrapes. They are the only things that are never serious."
"Oh, that's nonsense, Algy. You never talk anything but nonsense."
"Nobody ever does.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.”

Oscar Wilde

“The one charm about the past is that it is the past. But women never know when the curtain has fallen.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Variant: The one charm about the past is that it is the past.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray.”

Oscar Wilde

“You and I will always be friends."

"Yet you poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography.”

Oscar Wilde

Source: The Critic as Artist (1891), Part I

“Art only begins where Imitation ends.”

Oscar Wilde book De Profundis

Source: De Profundis

“Suffering is one very long moment. We cannot divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods, and chronicle their return. With us time itself does not progress. It revolves. It seems to circle round one centre of pain.”

Oscar Wilde

Source: De Profundis and Other Writings

“True friends stab you in the front”

Oscar Wilde

Also found in variants such as &quot;A true friend stabs you in the front&quot;. <br class="br">The earliest known example of this quote comes from Walter Winchell&#x27;s syndicated newspaper column in mid-January 1955: &#x27;On Broadway, cynically reports Jimmy Nelson, &quot;a true friend is one who stabs you in the front&quot;&#x27; <br class="br">The earliest version of this quote found in Google Books is from 1958, where the quote &quot;A true friend is one who stabs you in the front&quot; is attributed to actor Steve Dunne https://books.google.com/books?id=MF5-AAAAMAAJ&amp;q=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;dq=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwig2JCRnKrMAhUC42MKHaNzCGsQ6AEIHDAA. <br class="br">In 1981, a similar quote: &quot;He is a fine friend. He stabs you in the front&quot; was attributed to Hollywood writer and producer Leonard Levinson https://books.google.com/books?id=Xbe8zbfuVLgC&amp;q=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;dq=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjMjOrQnKrMAhVL2GMKHcQQDSgQ6AEIHTAA. <br class="br">In 1984, an article in Ms. Magazine https://books.google.com/books?id=sfIbAQAAMAAJ&amp;q=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;dq=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjMjOrQnKrMAhVL2GMKHcQQDSgQ6AEIJzAC stated that &quot;the Hollywood definition of a friend&quot; was &quot;someone who stabs you in the front&quot;. <br class="br">The earliest attribution to Oscar Wilde was from 1989 https://books.google.com/books?id=CnQJAAAAIAAJ&amp;q=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22+wilde&amp;dq=friend+%22stabs+you+in+the+front%22+wilde&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj2oqLfnKrMAhVG52MKHXdPANkQ6AEIJTAC: &quot;A good friend is one who stabs you in the front&quot;. No source was given. <br class="br">Disputed <br class="br">Variant: A good friend will always stab you in the front. <br class="br">Source: e.g. &quot;Broadway and Elsewhere&quot; https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/3706522/, Pharos-Tribune (Logansport, IN), 1955-01-16, p. 4