50 Most Famous Oscar Wilde Quotes
“Oscar Wilde Statue” by “Mark Heard“, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Born on October 16, 1854, Oscar Wilde was a respected Irish poet and playwright. He was particularly famous in the 19th century for his intriguing plays, novels, and poems. His work was loved by many from different corners of the world, especially in London, because of his unique style that dared to criticize the Victorian aristocracy. Amazingly, some Oscar Wilde quotes are still popular and relevant today.
Other than writing, Oscar had an eye for fashion – he always wore flamboyant outfits to match his personality. He was also known to be very witty. Turtle Quote honors his legacy with these 50 famous Oscar Wilde quotes about various aspects of life, such as art, love, and art. So, without further ado, here are some of the best quotes by Oscar Wilde.
Oscar Wilde Famous Quotes
Here’s a compilation of some of Oscar Wilde’s most famous quotes.
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Oscar Wilde, HUFFPOST
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Oscar Wilde
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.“
Oscar Wilde, philosiblog
“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.”
Oscar Wilde
“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
Oscar Wilde
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
Oscar Wilde
“I don’t want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.”
Oscar Wilde
“Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won’t be invited to cocktail parties.”
“A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.”
Oscar Wilde
“They’ve promised that dreams can come true – but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.”
Oscar Wilde
“A good friend will always stab you in the front.”
Oscar Wilde
“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.”
Oscar Wilde
“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
Oscar Wilde
“No man is rich enough to buy back his past”.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde Love Quotes
Most Oscar Wilde quotes on love had a deeper meaning. Here are some of the best.
“One should always be in love. That’s the reason one should never marry.”
Oscar Wilde
“Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.”
Oscar Wilde
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Oscar Wilde
“Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.”
“Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.”
Oscar Wilde
“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.”
Oscar Wilde
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.”
Oscar Wilde
“Who, being loved, is poor?”
Oscar Wilde
“I see when men love women. They give them but a little of their lives. But women when they love give everything.”
Oscar Wilde
“A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.”
Oscar Wilde
“Men always want to be a woman’s first love. That is their clumsy vanity.”
Oscar Wilde
“Love is a misunderstanding between two fools.”
Oscar Wilde
“Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies.”
Oscar Wilde
“When you really want love you will find it waiting for you.”
“There is no feeling more comforting and consoling than knowing you are right next to the one you love.”
Oscar Wilde
“There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love.”
Oscar Wilde
“Hatred is blind, as well as love.”
Oscar Wilde
“When a man has once loved a woman he will do anything for her except continue to love her.”
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde Art Quotes
As an artist himself, Oscar Wilde quotes about art will give you a different perspective of art by introducing you to his artistic way of thinking.
“Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.”
Oscar Wilde
“It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.”
Oscar Wilde
“Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.”
Oscar Wilde
“It is through art, and through art only, that we can realise our perfection.”
Oscar Wilde
“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.”
Oscar Wilde
“The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.”
“All art is quite useless.”
Oscar Wilde
“The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it’s dead for you.”
Oscar Wilde
“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”
Oscar Wilde
“Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force.”
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde Funny Quotes
As mentioned earlier, Oscar Wilde also had a great sense of humor. Here are some funny Oscar Wilde quotes to make your day.
“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.“
Oscar Wilde
“Life is too short to learn German.”
Oscar Wilde
“People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely because chickens run about so absurdly that it’s impossible to count them accurately.”
Oscar Wilde
“The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.”
Oscar Wilde
“Work is the curse of the drinking classes.”
Oscar Wilde
“When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.”
Oscar Wilde
“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.”
Oscar Wilde
“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.”
Oscar Wilde
“The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”
Oscar Wilde
“No good deed goes unpunished.”
Oscar Wilde’s name is still popular today and his legacy very much alive. He died on November 30, 1900 in France, aged 46.
Even after death, he’s widely regarded as one of the most influential poets of his generation. If you loved reading these quotes by Oscar Wilde, here’s more from reggae legend Bob Marley.
