QuoteProject
It is sweet to dance to violins When love and life are fair: To dance to flutes, to dance to lutes Is delicate and rare: But it is not sweet with nimble feet To dance upon the air!
Oscar Wilde
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote expresses the joy of love and life when circumstances are favorable, contrasting it with the emptiness of trying to find joy in unattainable dreams.

Oscar Wilde's quote captures the essence of happiness derived from love and favorable life conditions, suggesting that while it is delightful to enjoy the beauty of music and dance in harmony with life, it becomes meaningless to pursue joy in impossible situations. The imagery of dancing to various musical instruments reflects the different dimensions of love, yet emphasizes that the ultimate elation comes from tangible experiences rather than lofty aspirations.

Themes

LoveLifeJoyDanceHappiness

In practice

Example use cases

Use this quote in a wedding toast to emphasize the joy of love.

More from Oscar Wilde

Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
London is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
Oscar WildeRead
When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
Oscar WildeRead
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
Oscar WildeRead
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
Oscar WildeRead
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead

Similar quotes

But nobody else ever romped with White Fang. He did not permit it. He stood on his dignity, and when they attempted it, his warning snarl and bristling mane were anything but playful. That he allowed the master these liberties was no reason that he should be a common dog, loving here and loving there, everybody's property for a romp and good time. He loved with single heart and refused to cheapen himself or his love.
Jack LondonRead
It doesn't have to be on Valentine's Day. It doesn't have to be by the time you turn eighteen or thirty-three or fifty-nine. It doesn't have to conform to whatever is usual. It doesn't have to be kismet at once, or rhapsody by the third date. It just has to be. In time. In place. In spirit. It just has to be.
David LevithanRead
Love the people you think you'd want to be with in the hereafter.
Omar SuleimanRead
The true lover realizes that freedom is needed for loyalty to blossom.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Anyway, I want to remember that love can happen. Because there is life after not having a life. I never expected love to happen. What was I expecting from life, then?
Douglas CouplandRead
She was a mischief, and that was a satisfaction; no longer was she a huntress of corralled game
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.