Famous quote - opinions?

[chic]

Oscar Wilde said, "There are only two tragedies in this world. One is not getting what you want and the other is getting it."

How do feel about this? Was Oscar right? I prefer getting what I want even if I mess it up or don't do enough with it, because I feel a deep satisfaction in myself that at least I was able to try because I had it. Not having enough of what you need can defeat you before you can even start. So from my perspective, Oscar is wrong. But he may be right for others.

You can add your quote for was the author right or wrong if you like.

 

[horseless carriage]

The quotation comes from Wilde's play: "Lady Windermere's Fan."
It's a clever take on adultery. From the same play:
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.


American statesman Benjamin Franklin: Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

 

[hollydolly]

This was also attributed to my late near Neighbour the writer George Bernard Shaw. With both Wilde & Shaws' writings, I believe they were predominately referring to Romantic situations..

 

[oscash]

An eye for eye only ends up making the World blind. (Gandhi)

 

[oldaunt]

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

 

[Nathan]

 

[bowmore]

Oscar Wilde said, "There are only two tragedies in this world. One is not getting what you want and the other is getting it."
I went to the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters, where they create painting and sculptures with live people. They had a piece called Orpheus (see below) that I fell in love with. The original piece was about $20,000, and I got a picture of it. Over the next few years I searched for someone to make a copy. In the Lake District of England, I went to the Ulverston Glass Works. Getting there involved a steamboat, a steam train, a car, and a bus, but they could not do it.
I finally found someone some 20 miles from home to reproduce it. I finally got my hands on it with mixed emotions; one was finally getting it, the other that the quest was over.


Life Size

 

[Gaer]

Not a fan of Oscar Wilde but I agree in part.
IF you look at it from the view of the relative.
Neither is a "tragedy" because material things mean nothing.

It's so much more wonderful to go toward something
(the journey), than to actually get it.
Then you find, the ONLY TRUE JOY is within yourself!

@bowmore, The sculpture is amazing! It inspires me!
Is this in glass?

 

[jujube]

When I was a teenager, I wanted to look older than I was.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[oscash]

My Dad had this quote in his Diary., don't know where he got it from.
"A wise old Owl sat in an Oak, the more he saw, the less he spoke,
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
Why can't I be like that old bird".

 

[Jules]

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

Agree.

 

[Beezer]

There are only two tragedies in this world. One is not getting what you want and the other is getting it."

The only two tragedies in this world were those two sentences.

 

[Feelslikefar]

'A Wise Old Owl' is a nursery rhyme, I believe.
Remember hearing it somewhere.

 

[perChance]

"Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics, but to use words to help the gullible believe what they want to believe." Thomas Sowell

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." - C. S. Lewis

“Oh, you should never, never doubt what nobody is sure about.”
Hilaire Belloc

 

[Fyrefox]

Everything I needed to know about life I learned from StarTrek…

 

[Gaer]

Everything I needed to know about life I learned from StarTrek…

View attachment 273757

The writers of "Star Trek" had a more poetic way of writing than Oscar Wilde.
The statement has more clarity and is more pleasing to the ear.

 

[Lavinia]

Our minds stagnate when they have nothing to do. We need something to strive for to keep us moving forward. So although, getting what we want is the end of a quest, we then need to want something else!

 

[Knight]

Chic posted this.

Quote
"Oscar Wilde said, "There are only two tragedies in this world. One is not getting what you want and the other is getting it."

How do feel about this? Was Oscar right?"

To answer the question asked I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

As a statement about tragedies in this world there is no specific instance shown. IMO the potential for getting what you want to be satisfying & not a tragedy far outweighs the potential for getting it and not be satisfying. The real tradgedy would be not trying to get what you want.