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100 Most Famous Quotes By Oscar Wilde, The Author Of The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Famous As: One of the Greatest Playwrights of the 'Victorian Era'
Born On: October 16, 1854
Died On: November 30, 1900
Born In: Dublin, Ireland
Died At Age: 46
Victorian era saw the domination of art in its various forms. Painters, sculptors, writers, and artists gave a whole new definition to art. Literature too took a front seat as there were novelists, poets, essayist, critic and playwrights who made Victorian era the period of thriving literature. And while talking about playwrights, the name of Oscar Wilde comes to the forefront. He was by far one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian era. A proponent of the Aesthetic movement of the 19th century, he emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. He advocated art for art’s sake. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. Amongst his most famous works include the poem, ‘The Ballad of the Reading Gaol’, the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and the play, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. He also came up with the comic masterpiece ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’. Literary accomplishments apart, Wilde was famous for his wit and flamboyance with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship with the son of an aristocrat. Coming back to his literary endeavours, Wilde’s greatness can be felt in his quotes that give a new perception about life. Check this section and find quotes by Oscar Wilde.
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Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Oscar Wilde
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Oscar Wilde
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.

I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.

Oscar Wilde
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Oscar Wilde
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Oscar Wilde
If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

Oscar Wilde
It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.

It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.

Oscar Wilde
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

Oscar Wilde
The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oscar Wilde
Yes: I am a dreamer. For 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.

Yes: I am a dreamer. For 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.

Oscar Wilde
You can never be overdressed or overeducated.

You can never be overdressed or overeducated.

Oscar Wilde
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

Oscar Wilde
Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.

Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.

Oscar Wilde
A good friend will always stab you in the front.

A good friend will always stab you in the front.

Oscar Wilde
Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary.

Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary.

Oscar Wilde
I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.

I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.

Oscar Wilde
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Oscar Wilde
You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.

You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.

Oscar Wilde
Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Oscar Wilde
I am not young enough to know everything.

I am not young enough to know everything.

Oscar Wilde
The heart was made to be broken.

The heart was made to be broken.

Oscar Wilde
You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.

You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.

Oscar Wilde
A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

Oscar Wilde
Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.

Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.

Oscar Wilde
Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.

Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.

Oscar Wilde
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Oscar Wilde
The very essence of romance is uncertainty.

The very essence of romance is uncertainty.

Oscar Wilde
I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.

I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.

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

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

Oscar Wilde
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

Oscar Wilde