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Best Quotes by Oscar Wilde (18)

Discover the most loved quotes from Oscar Wilde's poetry.

"Tread lightly, she is near Under the snow, Speak gently, she can hear The daisies grow." from Requiescat · 36 ♥

"Sweet, there is nothing left to say But this, that love is never lost, Keen winter stabs the breasts of May Whose crimson roses burst his frost, Ships tempest-tossed Will find a harbour in some bay, …" from Her Voice · 28 ♥

"But surely it is something to have been The best belovèd for a little while, To have walked hand in hand with Love, and seen His purple wings flit once across thy smile." from Apologia · 24 ♥

"But neither milk-white rose nor red May bloom in prison air; The shard, the pebble, and the flint, Are what they give us there: For flowers have been known to heal A common man's despair." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 7 ♥

"And down the long and silent street, The dawn, with silver-sandalled feet, Crept like a frightened girl." from The Harlot's House · 5 ♥

"As often-times the too resplendent sun Hurries the pallid and reluctant moon Back to her sombre cave, ere she hath won A single ballad from the nightingale, So doth thy Beauty make my lips to fail, A…" from Silentium Amoris · 4 ♥

"How else but through a broken heart May Lord Christ enter in?" from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 4 ♥

"I know not whether Laws be right, Or whether Laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol Is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, A year whose days are long." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 4 ♥

"The yellow leaves begin to fade And flutter from the Temple elms, And at my feet the pale green Thames Lies like a rod of rippled jade." from Symphony in Yellow · 3 ♥

"So never will wine-red rose or white, Petal by petal, fall On that stretch of mud and sand that lies By the hideous prison-wall, To tell the men who tramp the yard That God's Son died for all." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 3 ♥

"The vilest deeds like poison weeds, Bloom well in prison-air; It is only what is good in Man That wastes and withers there: Pale Anguish keeps the heavy gate, And the Warder is Despair." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 3 ♥

"And never a human voice comes near To speak a gentle word: And the eye that watches through the door Is pitiless and hard: And by all forgot, we rot and rot, With soul and body marred." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 3 ♥

"This too I know—and wise it were If each could know the same— That every prison that men build Is built with bricks of shame, And bound with bars lest Christ should see How men their brothers maim." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 3 ♥

"I think thy spirit hath passed away From these white cliffs and high-embattled towers; This gorgeous fiery-coloured world of ours Seems fallen into ashes dull and grey" from To Milton · 2 ♥

"Her ivory hands on the ivory keys Strayed in a fitful fantasy, Like the silver gleam when the poplar trees Rustle their pale leaves listlessly, Or the drifting foam of a restless sea When the waves s…" from In the Gold Room: A Harmony · 2 ♥

"Each narrow cell in which we dwell Is a foul and dark latrine, And the fetid breath of living Death Chokes up each grated screen, And all, but Lust, is turned to dust In Humanity's machine." from The Ballad of Reading Gaol · 2 ♥

"O wandering graves! O restless sleep! O silence of the sunless day! O still ravine! O stormy deep! Give up your prey! Give up your prey!" from Ave Imperatrix · 1 ♥

"For not in quiet English fields Are these, our brothers, lain to rest, Where we might deck their broken shields With all the flowers the dead love best." from Ave Imperatrix

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Explore the best and most famous quotes by Oscar Wilde. From trending and popular favourites to timeless and iconic lines, browse the greatest, most inspiring, and most loved poetry quotes by Oscar Wilde. Whether you're looking for powerful, moving, or beautiful verses — discover the top Oscar Wilde quotes on The Poet's Place.