'You know your Shelley, Bertie!' 'Oh, am I?'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Bertie feigns ignorance about his knowledge of Shelley, typical of his character.
- In plain terms
- Bertie pretends not to know about Shelley.
- What can you take from it?
- Characters often hide their true knowledge for comic effect.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why does Bertie pretend not to know?
- What is the joke here?
Another view
This might not work if the reader knows the character is intelligent.
More from P. G. Wodehouse
'You can't be a successful Dictator and design women's underclothing.' 'No, sir.' 'One or the other. Not both.' 'Precisely, sir.'
Permalink to quote #120 I don't know if you have had the same experience, but a thing I have found in life is that from time to time, as you jog along, there occur moments which you a…
Permalink to quote #122 There came from without the hoof-beats of a galloping relative and Aunt Dahlia whizzed in.
Permalink to quote #119
Related quotes
Kitty: Shikspur? Shikspur? Who wrote it? No, I never read Shikspur. Lady Bab: Then you have an immense pleasure to come.
James TownleyJames Townley quote #1 'So, do you live around here often?'
Steven WrightSteven Wright quote #2 His ignorance is encyclopedic
Abba EbanAbba Eban quote #6