Wittiest character in literature...

[Fango]

Can anyone really top Beatrice from Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing"?

[JBI]

Petrucheo from the Taming of the Shrew, Feste from Twelfth Night, or Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet, but the topper of these all is the drunk porter who opens the door for Macduff in Macbeth.

Outside of Shakespeare, I would have to go with Oedipus. Simply because he wittily solves the Sphinx riddle.

[Nick Rubashov]

That's a good question, just off the top of my head, J.D. Salinger characters come to mind. The entire Glass family always has something witty to say to each other.

[truth_forest]

I don't read too much...
In my opinion, Nick Caraway from The Great Gatsby is my favourite witty character and Marquise de Merteuil fron Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a witty character that I really hate.

[masonblake]

In my humble opinion it has to be Lord Henry Wotton.

Regards

[Slangalang18ca]

Wasn't Polonius from Hamlet really witty? Also, I think Mr. Bennett from Pride and & Prejudice was pretty witty.

[subterranean]

Lord Arthur Goring from An Ideal Husband is one of the wittiest ever. :)

[Stieg]

Tiberius Claudius of I, Claudius

Alex De Large of A Clockwork Orange (not necessarily smart but very witty and funny nonetheless, this character made me laugh quite hard)

[aeroport]

I won't say the he's the wittiest, but Stephen Daedalus seems to me to be definitely up there.

[insomnia lodge]

duchesse de guermantes from proust? settembrini (is that witty?) from the magic mountain? i like the uncle from between the acts, though he may be "old man witty."

[F.Emerald]

In my humble opinion it has to be Lord Henry Wotton.

My thoughts exactly! I'm also thinking Humbert Humbert.

[drunkenKOALA]

The Connecticut yankee in King Arthur's court.

[Prometheus'Wake]

Will no one think of poor John Falstaff? Quickest witt in the west(ern canon).

{ouch literary puns}

[andave_ya]

Lord Peter Wimsey. When I have time I'll post a quote. I'm not at home right now.

[Daizee]

Can anyone really top Beatrice from Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing"?


Yep, Beatrice takes the biscuit for me!!

[PeterL]

Drake Maijstral in Ten Points for Style by Walter Jon Williams. Or Harry Flashman

[MonsieurSwann]

We musn't forget Shakespeare's Iago...

[Taliesin]

How about Behemoth/Begemot/the talking cat in "Master and Margarita" We think he deserves an honourable mention.

"What do you mean, we need a member card to enter. If Dostojevski would come, would he need a card too to enter the house?"
"But...Dostojevski is dead"
"I object! Dostojevski is immortal!"

[bazarov]

Sancho Panza

[THX-1138]

Jerry in The Zoo Story by Edward Albee he is the funniest and wittiest character along with Holden in catcher in the rye

[MrsofLoxley]

d'Artagnan from The Three Musketeers. He's not Shakespearian, but he is undeniably quick with the wit.

[Stieg]

Ah, Scaramouche from Rafael Sabatini's novel of the same title, Scaramouche!

[chasestalling]

hamlet, although his wit is a tad on the dark side

[kathycf]

I don't think he is the wittiest character ever, but Bertie Wooster is pretty funny. Jeeves is a perfect foil for Bertie.

[Geoff Shipley]

I would have to go with the undertaker from the graveyard scene in Hamlet (some versions refer to him as the clown) I also thought Elliot Rosewater from Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless you Mr Rosewater had an interesting wit in his malady.

-"Is there a sign Elliot? What does it say?:
-"Shiela Taylor is a c*ck-teaser. Im sure it's true!"


Wasn't Polonius from Hamlet really witty?

I think you might have that one confused. Polonius went on to say "Brevity is the soul of wit" and then prattled on about it. An intentional shot on Shakespeare's part im pretty sure.

[Countess]

Lord Henry Wotton.

So far (I believe), Lord Henry is winning with 3 votes followed by Beatrice with two.

[xaqxit]

I'll second Humbert Humbert.

[Aiculík]

Diotallevi from Foucalt's Pendulum.

(I would say Lord Henry, if I didn't despise him so much. :p )

[manolia]

Terry Pratchett's Rincewind

[F.Emerald]

We musn't forget Shakespeare's Iago...

Of course. One of my favourites :)

[higley]

Napoleon from Animal Farm was in his own right and so was Sam Spade in a coarse kind of way.

[ThousandthIsle]

HH in Lolita. Very dry wit... I don't think most people would be capable of warming up to him at all without it.

[Thatch]

I'd like to put in Jeff Peters and Andy Tucker from O Henry. I really had a great time reading their adventures swindling people out of their money.
I remember starting to read Dorian Gray, but I never finished it, and I sure will put a vote for Lord Henry Wotton, as I had an amusing time reading what he had to say!
Since many people put a vote for Beatrice, I'm sure I'll have to read "Much Ado about Nothing" someday.
Cheers...