--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only the great masters of style ever…" description: "\"Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg" --- # Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being… ![“Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg) > “Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.” [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. Great masters of style achieve obscurity because their work transcends trends, focusing on timeless elegance over fame. **In simple terms:** True style is timeless, not famous. Key Takeaway Prioritize lasting style. Themes style obscurity mastery Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - design workshops - literary analysis - creative writing courses - branding strategy Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy cultural critique artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does obscurity serve artistic integrity? - Can style be both master and popular? A Different Perspective May romanticize obscurity over practical success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-masters-268448/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Masters Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters-style-2607449/) [Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscure/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Style Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-succeed-1258820/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Succeed Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed-obscure-2607448/) ## Related quotes > [Only teams with style succeed. But, in the end, success is normally what matters in modern Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-villas-boas/only-teams-with-style-succeed-but-in-the-end-success-is-normally-what/) [Andre Villas-Boas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-villas-boas/) > [Don't settle for style. Succeed in substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/don-t-settle-for-style-succeed-in-substance/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Indeed there can be no more useful help for discovering what poetry belongs to the class of the truly excellent, and can therefore do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/indeed-there-can-be-no-more-useful-help-for-discovering-what-poetry/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [ Not only did she \[Marilyn Monroe\] master her own image, create it and ultimately control it, she was the subject of many of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-levin/not-only-did-she-marilyn-monroe-master-her-own-image-create-it-and/) [Gail Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-levin/) > [Great masters merit emulation, not worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/great-masters-merit-emulation-not-worship/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Part of the reason why a certain skill often seems so effortless for great masters is not just because they’ve mastered the process—they really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/part-of-the-reason-why-a-certain-skill-often-seems-so-effortless-for/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [No one can bar me from joyfully proceeding on what the great masters have left us; after all, to rediscover everything again, should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/no-one-can-bar-me-from-joyfully-proceeding-on-what-the-great-masters/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Morphy gained most of his wins by playing directly and simply, and it is simple and logical method that constitutes the true brilliance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-raul-capablanca/morphy-gained-most-of-his-wins-by-playing-directly-and-simply-and-it/) [Jose Raul Capablanca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-raul-capablanca/) > [“I conn'd old times, I sat studying at the feet of the great masters, Now if eligible O that the great masters might return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-conn-d-old-times-i-sat-studying-at-the-feet-of-the-great-masters/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Refine your senses through the great masters of music, painting, and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/refine-your-senses-through-the-great-masters-of-music-painting-and/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [“What a sad paradox, though Amalfitano. Now even bookish pharmacists are afraid to take on the great, imperfect, torrential works, books that blaze the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/what-a-sad-paradox-though-amalfitano-now-even-bookish-pharmacists-are/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [It's important to see the work of as many directors as possible but you must not become self-conscious. You have to accept that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/it-s-important-to-see-the-work-of-as-many-directors-as-possible-but/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [“The formal innovations of the great masters always have a certain discreetness about them; such is true perfection; only among the small masters does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-formal-innovations-of-the-great-masters-always-have-a-certain/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [ I'll take a \[Pavel\] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-ll-take-a-pavel-chekhov-comparison-any-day-he-s-of-course-one-of/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) ## 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 Masters quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no one who can change My course or affect My conduct to the slightest extent. I am the Master over all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/there-is-no-one-who-can-change-my-course-or-affect-my-conduct-to-the/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Laws are not masters but servants, and he rules them who obey them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/laws-are-not-masters-but-servants-and-he-rules-them-who-obey-them/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I was a full time student either at Stony Brook or NYU getting my masters degree. After I graduated with my masters I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-algieri/i-was-a-full-time-student-either-at-stony-brook-or-nyu-getting-my/) [Chris Algieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-algieri/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [We may be masters of our every lot By bearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/we-may-be-masters-of-our-every-lot-by-bearing-it/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [The first responsibility of the Muslim is as teacher. That is his job, to teach. His first school, his first classroom is within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rap-brown/the-first-responsibility-of-the-muslim-is-as-teacher-that-is-his-job/) [H. Rap Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rap-brown/) > [God has often given His people favor in the sight of heathen masters (as Joseph and Daniel), and has magnified the sufficiency of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/god-has-often-given-his-people-favor-in-the-sight-of-heathen-masters/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) [Browse all 4,282 Masters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-succeed-in-being-obscure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Masters" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-succeed-in-being-obscure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/oscar-wilde-16_masters_only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-suc_1874395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.” — Oscar Wilde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only the great masters of style...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-succeed-in-being-obscure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/only-the-great-masters-of-style-ever-succeed-in-being-obscure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```