--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For life is terribly deficient in form…" description: "\"For life is terribly deficient in form. Its catastrophes happen in the wrong way and to the wrong people. There is a grotesque horror about its comedie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/oscar-wilde-16_catastrophe_for-life-is-terribly-deficient-in-form-i_1861798.jpg" --- # For life is terribly deficient in form. Its catastrophes… ![“For life is terribly deficient in form. Its catastrophes happen in the wrong way and to the wrong people. There is a grotesque horror about its comedies, and its tragedies seem to culminate in farce.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/oscar-wilde-16_catastrophe_for-life-is-terribly-deficient-in-form-i_1861798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/oscar-wilde-16_catastrophe_for-life-is-terribly-deficient-in-form-i_1861798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/oscar-wilde-16_catastrophe_for-life-is-terribly-deficient-in-form-i_1861798.jpg) > “For life is terribly deficient in form. Its catastrophes happen in the wrong way and to the wrong people. There is a grotesque horror about its comedies, and its tragedies seem to culminate in farce.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is chaotic, mixing tragedy and comedy in absurd ways, showing humanity’s vulnerability to random misfortune. **In simple terms:** Life mixes tragedy and comedy absurdly. Key Takeaway Accept life’s absurdity and find humor. Themes absurdity human condition tragedy comedy Mood melancholic ironic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - unexpected events - coping with grief - finding meaning Key Concepts existentialism irony social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you find humor in hardship? - What does “grotesque horror” reveal about society? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize suffering, ignoring resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Wrong people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-people/) ## Related quotes > [“How alone I am in life! How terribly alone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-alone-i-am-in-life-how-terribly-alone/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I like characters with character, not just pretty faces. Anyway, I think people can be both grotesque and beautiful at the same time. Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-naifeh/i-like-characters-with-character-not-just-pretty-faces-anyway-i-think/) [Ted Naifeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-naifeh/) > [Most people would have found it grotesque, but when you're in love nothing is so abstract or horrible that it can't be thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/most-people-would-have-found-it-grotesque-but-when-you-re-in-love/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“Often I'd take out my magnifying glass and stare into the chaos that was her face. Most people would have found it grotesque, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/often-i-d-take-out-my-magnifying-glass-and-stare-into-the-chaos-that/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [The stage is more beholding to love than the life of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-stage-is-more-beholding-to-love-than-the-life-of-man-for-as-to/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“Will these books be comedies or tragedies?” “Both. Just like life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/will-these-books-be-comedies-or-tragedies-both-just-like-life/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [The comedies, the tragedies we see played out on this earth before us, don't last. But we are eternal spirits. These events will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-comedies-the-tragedies-we-see-played-out-on-this-earth-before-us/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [How children attempt to deal with everyday comedies and tragedies, and mortality, is universal and ultimately such a large part of what it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/how-children-attempt-to-deal-with-everyday-comedies-and-tragedies-and/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [Life has become terribly insecure. It's on the vortex of civil war. It's difficult to know how America will bring it back from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lee-anderson/life-has-become-terribly-insecure-it-s-on-the-vortex-of-civil-war-it/) [Jon Lee Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lee-anderson/) > [“Richard knew he was fighting for his life, and he was terribly happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/richard-knew-he-was-fighting-for-his-life-and-he-was-terribly-happy/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [Life is indeed terribly complicated—to a man who has lost his principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-indeed-terribly-complicated-to-a-man-who-has-lost-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to have a private... life. Now I dont have that... I have no freedom. I miss my normal life terribly. Its a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajinikanth/i-used-to-have-a-private-life-now-i-dont-have-that-i-have-no-freedom/) [Rajinikanth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajinikanth/) > [Reforms in Russia are very tragic, but they always end in a farce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/reforms-in-russia-are-very-tragic-but-they-always-end-in-a-farce/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“After a tragedy, a farce. Philosophy enters into her power, and the earth returns under one's feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/after-a-tragedy-a-farce-philosophy-enters-into-her-power-and-the/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [I knew nothing about farce until I read Puce a l'Oreille, and had no idea what a deadly serious business it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-knew-nothing-about-farce-until-i-read-puce-a-l-oreille-and-had-no/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Catastrophe quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“..the sense of a catastrophe perpetually invoked and avoided creates a rapture in whose depths horror and pleasure coincide...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/the-sense-of-a-catastrophe-perpetually-invoked-and-avoided-creates-a/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/) [Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/war-is-catastrophe-it-breaks-families-in-irretrievable-pieces-but/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [When the regime changed in Japan, the Japanese changed; Russians too can change, as long as the conditions for it are present once again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/when-the-regime-changed-in-japan-the-japanese-changed-russians-too/) [Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/) > [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. 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