The Penguin Podcast is back! Listen Now
Features

12 of the best Oscar Wilde quotes

Author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was a master of balancing tragedy, wit and wisdom, as seen in his books The Picture of Dorian Grey to The Importance of Being Ernest. Here's 12 of his very best quotes.

Best Oscar Wilde Quotes, Quotations & Aphorisms
Oscar Wilde

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”

“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.”

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
An Ideal Husband, 1895

“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.”
Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892

“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.”

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
The Picture of Dorian Grey, 1890

“It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.”
Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.”
An Ideal Husband, 1895

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”

Discover Oscar Wilde's books

Sign up to the VINTAGE newsletter

Get the best of VINTAGE books direct to your inbox

By signing up, I confirm that I'm over 16. To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more