The exact words
The scene
Lady Windermere’s Fan, which opened at the St James’s Theatre in London in February 1892, was Oscar Wilde’s first big success as a playwright. In Act 3, a group of fashionable men are gathered late at night in Lord Darlington’s rooms, trading witty remarks about women and morals. One complains that women always find men bad; another, Dumby, replies cheerfully that they are all good, except their friend Tuppy.
Lord Darlington, who has just been rejected by Lady Windermere, the woman he loves, disagrees: “No, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” It is the most beautiful line in the play, and it reveals that beneath his cynical banter Darlington is genuinely in love.
What it means, and Wilde’s joke
The meaning is simple and generous. Nobody is perfect; everyone lives in the same imperfect, sometimes sordid world. But some people still turn their eyes upward, toward love, beauty, art or goodness. Being in the gutter is universal. Looking at the stars is a choice.
Wilde, being Wilde, does not let the moment stay solemn. Dumby repeats the line back with mock surprise, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars? Upon my word, you are very romantic to-night, Darlington,” and another friend guesses that he must be in love. The play keeps its sincere idea and its comedy side by side, which is typical of Wilde: he gives his deepest feelings to characters and then lets the others laugh at them.
How to use it
The line is a lovely, hopeful closer for a graduation, a recovery story or a speech about resilience. It is safe to credit to Wilde, since he wrote it, but saying “as a character in Oscar Wilde’s play puts it” is more precise. In writing, mention the friends’ teasing; it shows how Wilde balances feeling and wit.
What people get wrong
Oscar Wilde's personal statement of hope.
It is spoken by a character, Lord Darlington, in a scene of witty banter among men at a club. His friend repeats it back and tells him he is “very romantic to-night.”
Timeline
- February 1892Lady Windermere's Fan opens at the St James's Theatre in London, Wilde's first major stage success.
- 1893The play is published.
- TodayThe line is quoted as an inspiring motto, often without knowing who says it or how his friends react.
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
Who says “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”?
Lord Darlington, in Act 3 of Oscar Wilde's comedy Lady Windermere's Fan, first staged in 1892.
What does it mean?
Everyone has faults and lives in an imperfect world, but some people still aspire to something higher, such as love, beauty or goodness.
Is the line meant seriously?
Darlington means it, because he is in love. Wilde undercuts it with comedy: his friend Dumby repeats it and says, “Upon my word, you are very romantic to-night, Darlington.”
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.