What does this quote mean?

“The only possible society is oneself.”

The comic exaggeration makes self-company part of Wilde’s joke about society while still centering comfort with oneself.

Source note: An Ideal Husband, Act III, spoken by Lord Goring immediately before the lifelong-romance line.

“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

The exuberant image celebrates unapologetic self-expression and a voice that refuses to become small merely to fit social expectations.

Source note: Near the close of “Song of Myself”; Whitman turns self-expression into a large, physical cry.

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

The line playfully treats self-acceptance not as a one-time achievement but as a relationship that lasts throughout life.

Source note: An Ideal Husband, Act 3; Lord Goring delivers the lifelong-romance epigram in Wilde’s social comedy, where self-regard is framed through deliberate wit.

“I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live.”

Preserving truthful speech and character is valued above survival purchased by abandoning one’s principles merely to satisfy an audience.

Source note: Apology, Jowett translation; Socrates rejects saving himself through a style of pleading he considers unworthy.

“I know I am solid and sound.”

Whitman’s speaker declares an underlying soundness that is not presented as a verdict from other people, making self-assurance part of the poem’s larger democratic self.

Source note: Song of Myself, 1882 text; this statement begins a sequence of increasingly expansive declarations about the speaker’s place in the universe.

“I exist as I am, that is enough.”

Whitman asserts existence itself before performance or approval, making the line useful for thinking about intrinsic worth.

Source note: Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself.”