The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Quotes
The 6 most famous lines from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), each with its speaker and the scene it belongs to. These are the quotes readers underline, copy into essays and put on walls - gathered in one place, explained in a line.
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“Then a strange thing happened.”
- the narrator. Chapter I, 'The Cyclone' - Dorothy's house arrives in Oz.
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“I am never hungry.”
- the Scarecrow. Chapter IV, 'The Road Through the Forest' - the Scarecrow explains his difference from Dorothy.
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“"I know it," said the Lion.”
- the Cowardly Lion. Chapter VI, 'The Cowardly Lion' - the Lion admits that he is afraid.
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“"I will," declared the Scarecrow.”
- the Scarecrow. Chapter VII, 'The Journey to the Great Oz' - the Scarecrow volunteers to act.
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“We must go on, for we cannot turn back.”
- Dorothy. Chapter VIII, 'The Deadly Poppy Field' - the travelers keep moving toward the Emerald City.
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“I have no heart, you know.”
- the Tin Woodman. Chapter V, 'The Rescue of the Tin Woodman' - he explains the loss he believes defines him.
Why these lines survive
L. Frank Baum’s sentences earn their fame by compression: each line carries the whole book’s argument in a form you can carry in your pocket. Read in order, the 6 quotes above also sketch the novel’s shape - the world it opens, the pressure it applies, the note it ends on. If you meet them before the book, nothing is spoiled beyond mood; if you meet them after, each one lands like a place you have been.
Quote collectors: pair this page with the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz quiz to see which lines actually stuck, the book club questions when you want to argue about them, or how long the reread takes - about 2 hours and 48 minutes at an average pace. If the lines did their job and you want more of the same nerve, the books like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz list is next.
How to use a quotes page
Three honest uses. Before reading: skim the first two quotes to taste the prose - if the voice does not pull you, the book will not either. During: mark which quote you actually reach in the text, because the distance between famous line and lived scene is where a book keeps its secrets. After: pick the one quote you would defend at dinner and check it against the discussion questions - a quote you can argue about is a quote you understood. What a quotes page is not for is replacing the book; five lines of L. Frank Baum are an invitation, not a summary.
More quote collections
The Odyssey quotes, Moby-Dick quotes, Don Quixote quotes, Alice in Wonderland quotes - or browse quotes from all 133 classics. Then see which of them stuck on the original book quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous quote from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?
“Then a strange thing happened.” - the line most readers meet first. The full list above gives the scene for every one of the 6.
How many The Wonderful Wizard of Oz quotes are here?
6, chosen because they are the lines readers actually underline and repeat - each with who says it and where it lands in the book.
Are these quotes explained?
Yes - every quote carries its speaker and a one-line context, because a quote without its scene loses most of its charge.
Can I use these in an essay or post?
Short quoted lines with attribution are standard fair use in essays and posts. Quote accurately, name the author, and you are on solid ground.
Are these The Wonderful Wizard of Oz quotes word-for-word accurate?
They are checked against the novel as written, not harvested from quote sites - which is why a few famous “lines” you may have seen elsewhere are missing here: many of those come from film adaptations or paraphrase the prose. What is listed above is the book.