Oscar Wilde on Love: Witty Messages to Send
Oscar Wilde wrote about love with one eyebrow permanently raised. His lines on romance are funny and also devastatingly accurate — he was too clear-eyed to be sentimental, but too in love with beauty to be cynical. His best lines on love are short, sharp, and impossible to argue with. These messages are for a partner who appreciates wit, or for the rare moment when a text should make someone laugh and feel something at the same time.
When to use these
These work for a partner with a sense of humour, for early relationships where lightness is the register, and for anyone who is allergic to earnest declarations. They also work for Valentine’s Day or anniversaries with someone who’d find a traditional card embarrassing.
Messages you can copy
The very essence of romance is uncertainty. You keep things very romantic.
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance — but I’d rather love you.
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. I’d make all of mine again, as long as they led to you.
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Neither is what I feel for you. That’s what makes it interesting.
I can resist everything except you. The rest I resist easily.
You are what I want to be when I grow up, and also what I already am.
The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer. I’m still here.
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people merely exist. With you, I live.
One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. — Wilde was wrong. I want to marry you.
You are entirely absurd and I mean that as the highest compliment.
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. That’s you.
Women are made to be loved, not understood. — Though with you, I’m attempting both.
Make it yours
Match to the person’s sense of humour. The dry ones (‘you keep things very romantic’) are for someone who would catch the irony. The warmer ones (‘to live is the rarest thing’) have more feeling to them. The marriage one is for someone you’re actually in a committed relationship with — it won’t land otherwise.
Tone to avoid
Wilde’s wit can shade into cruelty if you pick the wrong line. These are his affectionate and romantic ones, not the brittle social ones. Keep it in the register of fondness with an edge, not irony that cuts.
More ideas
For more Wilde on love — including the more earnest lines from his letters that most people haven’t seen — Oscar Wilde’s love quotes at SMS4Smile has a fuller picture.
Frequently asked questions
Will quoting Wilde come across as pretentious?
Only if you announce it. Use the feeling of the line, not the attribution. If you want to reference him, do it playfully: ‘Wilde had something to say about this, and so do I.’ The lightness is the point.
What’s Oscar Wilde’s most famous love quote?
Probably ‘To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance’ and ‘I can resist everything except temptation.’ Both are more self-focused than romantic, which is very Wilde — his love lines are more revealing when you look at the plays.
Where can I find more Oscar Wilde love quotes?
SMS4Smile’s Oscar Wilde love quotes page has quotes from his plays, letters, and essays — including his more tender lines that don’t circulate as widely as the witty ones.