"Quotes in the Importance of Being Earnest" resonate with wit, humor, and a sharp commentary on the social norms and values of Victorian society. Oscar Wilde's renowned play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," is a timeless masterpiece that continues to captivate audiences with its clever wordplay and satirical exploration of identity, marriage, and the triviality of social conventions. In this article, we delve into the world of Wilde's iconic play, dissecting key quotes that not only showcase his exceptional talent for wit but also shed light on the enduring relevance of his observations on society. Through these selected quotes, we will navigate the intricate web of deception, double lives, and the absurdity of earnestness that defines the play's narrative, making it a quintessential piece of literature that continues to delight and provoke thought.
Quotes In The Importance Of Being Earnest (2024)
Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a literary gem brimming with witty, satirical, and thought-provoking quotes. This collection of unique quotes from the play captures the essence of Wilde's humor, social commentary, and astute observations on the Victorian era and human nature.
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist anything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she is pretty and to someone else if she is plain." - Oscar Wilde
"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." - Oscar Wilde
"I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." - Oscar Wilde
"A man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing." - Oscar Wilde
"We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces." - Oscar Wilde
"One must be serious about something if one wants to have any amusement in life." - Oscar Wilde
"I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." - Oscar Wilde
"I don't play accurately—anyone can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression." - Oscar Wilde
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." - Oscar Wilde
"It is always painful to part from people whom one has known for a very brief space of time." - Oscar Wilde
"The amount 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
"If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life." - Oscar Wilde
"The very essence of romance is uncertainty." - Oscar Wilde
"One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating." - Oscar Wilde
"I love talking about nothing, father. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde
"I have nothing to declare except my genius." - Oscar Wilde
"I like looking at geniuses, and listening to beautiful people." - Oscar Wilde
"I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays." - Oscar Wilde
"I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable." - Oscar Wilde
"I think it's very clever of you to be so amusing, and I think it's very clever of you to be able to talk to people as if you were stupid. It's one of the things that makes me love you." - Oscar Wilde
"The one charm about marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties." - Oscar Wilde
"I don't like novels that end happily. They depress me so much." - Oscar Wilde
"Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone." - Oscar Wilde
"I never saw anybody take so long to dress, and with such little result." - Oscar Wilde
"Well, in the first place, girls never marry the men they flirt with. Girls don't think it right." - Oscar Wilde
"There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It's a thing no married man knows anything about." - Oscar Wilde
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying." - Oscar Wilde
"To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up." - Oscar Wilde
"I never approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone." - Oscar Wilde
"I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." - Oscar Wilde
"The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast." - Oscar Wilde
"Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the two sexes." - Oscar Wilde
"Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong." - Oscar Wilde
"I am but too ready to conform to the wishes of others." - Oscar Wilde
"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." - Oscar Wilde
"It is a great nuisance that knowledge can only be acquired by hard work." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist anything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself." - Oscar Wilde
"Marriage is the most unnatural thing in the world." - Oscar Wilde
"The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius." - Oscar Wilde
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying." - Oscar Wilde
"Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance." - Oscar Wilde
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means." - Oscar Wilde
"Men become old, but they never become good." - Oscar Wilde
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." - Oscar Wilde
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
"I never change, except in my affections." - Oscar Wilde
In closing, it is evident that Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" serves as a brilliant and timeless commentary on the absurdities of social conventions and the art of deception. Through the witty and humorous exchanges among its characters, Wilde masterfully underscores the folly of pretense and the superficiality of the Victorian society he satirizes. As we delve into the intricacies of Wilde's clever wordplay and the farcical situations in the play, we come to appreciate the enduring relevance of his observations on the human inclination to adopt masks and assume false identities to fit into societal molds.
