"I was born in very sorry circumstances"
About this Quote
A lesser comedian would turn poverty into a credential; Norman Wisdom turns it into a deadpan shrug. "I was born in very sorry circumstances" is funny because it’s both prim and brutal at once. The phrasing is almost bureaucratic - "very sorry circumstances" sounds like something a vicar might say at a graveside, or an official might write on a form. Wisdom borrows that polite, British euphemism to describe something that clearly wasn’t polite at all. The laugh comes from the mismatch: the language is trying to keep its tie straight while the truth is spilling out.
The intent isn’t just to announce hardship; it’s to control it. Wisdom’s whole screen persona - the put-upon little man, eternally baffled by bosses, systems, and bad luck - depends on that tension between dignity and humiliation. By understating his origins, he’s also establishing a moral claim: I didn’t start with advantages, and I’m not going to romanticize that fact for you. He asks for sympathy without begging for it, a crucial trick for a comedian whose comedy often hinges on being kicked around.
Context matters. Born in 1915, Wisdom’s childhood sat in the long shadow of war and class rigidity, when social mobility was more punchline than promise. His comedy became widely beloved in postwar Britain (and improbably huge in places like Albania) because it translated structural unfairness into slapstick, making the audience complicit and relieved: yes, life is rigged, but at least someone can trip over it beautifully.
The intent isn’t just to announce hardship; it’s to control it. Wisdom’s whole screen persona - the put-upon little man, eternally baffled by bosses, systems, and bad luck - depends on that tension between dignity and humiliation. By understating his origins, he’s also establishing a moral claim: I didn’t start with advantages, and I’m not going to romanticize that fact for you. He asks for sympathy without begging for it, a crucial trick for a comedian whose comedy often hinges on being kicked around.
Context matters. Born in 1915, Wisdom’s childhood sat in the long shadow of war and class rigidity, when social mobility was more punchline than promise. His comedy became widely beloved in postwar Britain (and improbably huge in places like Albania) because it translated structural unfairness into slapstick, making the audience complicit and relieved: yes, life is rigged, but at least someone can trip over it beautifully.
Quote Details
| Topic | Tough Times |
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