Previous
Inigo Montoya
The antagonist of The Princess Bride, Prince Humperdinck is the evil prince of Florin. He's shaped like a barrel and loves to hunt, so when King Lotharon's health begins to go downhill, he and Count Rugen construct the Zoo of Death. The Zoo allows Humperdinck to hunt in the comfort of his own backyard rather than traveling the world. Humperdinck also loves war and desperately wants to rule Guilder, Florin's neighbor. He agrees to take a wife when King Lotharon's health takes a turn for the worse, and Count Rugen is able to talk him into marrying the beautiful Buttercup. Because Humperdinck wants power above all else, he hires Vizzini to kidnap and kill Buttercup and blame it on Guilder, as pretense to start a war. He shows that he's a clever and thoughtful villain when Vizzini is unsuccessful, as he easily figures out how to use the fact that Buttercup's popularity skyrockets after her kidnapping to manipulate the emotions of the populace. Because he's jealous that Buttercup still loves Westley, he enjoys torturing Westley with Count Rugen. Westley ultimately outwits Humperdinck and is able to escape with Buttercup. Goldman and Morgenstern, however, note that Humperdinck doesn't die or give up: he continues to pursue Westley and Buttercup for the foreseeable future.
Prince Humperdinck Quotes in The Princess Bride
The The Princess Bride quotes below are all either spoken by Prince Humperdinck or refer to Prince Humperdinck. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
This was just like any other hunt. He made himself think about the quarry. It did not matter if you were after an antelope or a bride-to-be; the procedures held. You gathered evidence. Then you acted. You studied, then you performed. If you studied too little, the chances were strong that your actions would also be too late.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
It's one of my biggest memories of my father reading. I had pneumonia, remember, but I was a little better now, and madly caught up in the book, and one thing you know when you're ten is that, no matter what, there's gonna be a happy ending. They can sweat all they want to scare you, the authors, but back of it all you know, you just have no doubt, that in the long run justice is going to win out.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Westley dies,” my father said.
I said, “What do you mean, ‘Westley dies’? You mean dies?”
My father nodded. “Prince Humperdinck kills him.”
“He's only faking thought, right?”
My father shook his head, closed the book all the way.
“Aw shit” I said and I started to cry.
“I'm sorry,” my father said. “I'll leave you alone,” and he left.
“Who gets Humperdinck?” I screamed after him.
He stopped in the hall. “I don't understand.”
“Who kills Prince Humperdinck? At the end, somebody's got to get him. Is it Fezzik? Who?”
“Nobody kills him. He lives.”
“You mean he wins, Daddy? Jesus, what did you read me this thing for?”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Princess Bride LitChart as a printable PDF.
Prince Humperdinck Quotes in The Princess Bride
The The Princess Bride quotes below are all either spoken by Prince Humperdinck or refer to Prince Humperdinck. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
This was just like any other hunt. He made himself think about the quarry. It did not matter if you were after an antelope or a bride-to-be; the procedures held. You gathered evidence. Then you acted. You studied, then you performed. If you studied too little, the chances were strong that your actions would also be too late.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
It's one of my biggest memories of my father reading. I had pneumonia, remember, but I was a little better now, and madly caught up in the book, and one thing you know when you're ten is that, no matter what, there's gonna be a happy ending. They can sweat all they want to scare you, the authors, but back of it all you know, you just have no doubt, that in the long run justice is going to win out.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Westley dies,” my father said.
I said, “What do you mean, ‘Westley dies’? You mean dies?”
My father nodded. “Prince Humperdinck kills him.”
“He's only faking thought, right?”
My father shook his head, closed the book all the way.
“Aw shit” I said and I started to cry.
“I'm sorry,” my father said. “I'll leave you alone,” and he left.
“Who gets Humperdinck?” I screamed after him.
He stopped in the hall. “I don't understand.”
“Who kills Prince Humperdinck? At the end, somebody's got to get him. Is it Fezzik? Who?”
“Nobody kills him. He lives.”
“You mean he wins, Daddy? Jesus, what did you read me this thing for?”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
