The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman · Character

Mr. Yorick

The quick-witted parson whose jokes cost him his reputation, a friend to the Shandys and a stand-in for the author's own voice.

supporting

Also known as Yorick, poor Yorick, parson Yorick

First appearance: book i

As a supporting figure in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Mr. Yorick is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The parson who rides a lean horse and pays for the midwife's licence, bearing ridicule with tranquillity.

In the storyThe Parson's Horse and the Midwife's LicenceOpen this moment free

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Yorick is the parish priest whose wit is sharper than his prudence, forever landing him in trouble with those who cannot take a joke. He moves between the Shandy parlor and the wider world of church politics, offering…

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See Mr. Yorick in book i

Character Web

26 connections

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Relationship types

Friendship
Other

Character groups

Shandy Household Core
Narrative and Historical Figures
Slawkenbergius's Nose Tale
Wide Cast of Digressions
Protagonist

+21 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This passage is the dramatic climax because it depicts the precise moment the corporal’s long-standing resista…

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Relationships

Uncle Toby
friendship · positive
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many… How this plays out →
Corporal Trim
friendship · positive
Eugenius
friendship · positive
Phutatorius
rivalry · negative
Uncle Toby
friendship · positive
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many… How this plays out →
Uncle Toby
friendship · positive
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many… How this plays out →
Corporal Trim
friendship · positive

Uncle Toby
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many conversations and mutual respect.
Corporal Trim
Trim and Yorick share a warm, respectful friendship, often conversing about Toby and life's absurdities.
Eugenius
Eugenius is Yorick's loyal and sensible friend, often offering counsel and defending him against critics.
Phutatorius
Yorick and Phutatorius are intellectual and social rivals, with Phutatorius representing pompous orthodoxy against Yorick's wit.
Uncle Toby
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many conversations and mutual respect.
Uncle Toby
Yorick is a witty, good-natured parson and a close friend of Toby, sharing many conversations and mutual respect.
Corporal Trim
Trim and Yorick share a warm, respectful friendship, often conversing about Toby and life's absurdities.

Relationship notes

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See Mr. Yorick in book i

In the story

Mr. Yorick appears across 44 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Parson's Horse and the Midwife's Licence
The parson who rides a lean horse and pays for the midwife's licence, bearing ridicule with tranquillity.
Chapter XI
Introduced as the parson with a mercurial and heteroclite nature, opposed to affected gravity, and prone to indiscreet plain speaking.
Chapter XII
The protagonist of this chapter, whose carefree jests lead to his downfall and death.
Chapter XVII
Revealed as the sermon's author; his sermon was lost, recovered, and later plagiarized after his death.
Chapter XIV
Absent; his curate performs the baptism instead.
My Father's Lamentation
Suggested by Uncle Toby as someone to send for in response to Walter's despair.
Chapter XXIII
Advises Walter to use the dinner with Didius to resolve the question of the name.
Chapter XXV
Comments that clergy know little of heraldry; is advised to ride ahead to the visitation.
Chapter XXVI
Defends his destruction of the sermon, claiming it caused him great pain and was produced from his head rather than his heart.
Chapter XXVII
Picks up the chestnut after Phutatorius throws it down, incurring Phutatorius's resentment.
Chapter XXVIII
Adds commentary on the oil and lampblack in the ink and warns against bawdry.
Chapter XXIX
Offers witty interjections, including the story from Selden about a son justifying lying with his grandmother.
The Staircase Settlement
Explains the learned men's decision that Tristram is unrelated to his parents.
Chapter XXXI
Walter argues with him over the Ox-moor affair.
Chapter XX
Listening to Uncle Toby's account of the Battle of Steenkirk.
Chapter XXI
Drolls upon Trim about Count Solmes and draws his chair aside for safety during the battle reenactment.
Chapter XXII
Responds to Toby, fearing the squire will be as provoked at Trim as King William was at Count Solmes.
Chapter XXIII
Walks abreast with Uncle Toby and responds to Trim's remark about cutting off spouts.
Chapter XXVIII
Engages in witty repartee with Walter, criticizes polemic divines, and offers to read a battle description.
Chapter XXIX
Counsels patience during the tale and later agrees with Trim's practical assessment.
The Tristra-paedia Reading
Questions Walter about the Tristra-paedia and draws his chair closer to the table.
XXXI
Quotes Hesiod and challenges Walter's views on paternal authority, noting the mother's equal claim.
Chapter XXXII
Gently questions Trim and is deeply impressed by his sincerity, honoring him as a true commentator.
Chapter XXXIII
Interjects with a skeptical question about whether Walter has actually proved his point about radical heat and moisture.
Chapter XXXVII
Toby turns to Yorick to explain the case at Limerick more intelligibly.
Chapter XXXVIII
Interjects with a comment about firing, then asks Trim for his opinion, preventing Walter's sentence.
Chapter XL
Comments on Trim's earlier examination and joins the discussion.
XLII
Listens attentively to Walter's theories, expresses surprise and curiosity, and is urged to be wary of imitating Walter.
Chapter II
Smiling, attributes the method to Vincent Quirino; mentions Lipsius's composition on the day he was born.
V
Present during the conversation and suggests the governor should be humble, moderate, and good.
VII: The Story of Le Fever Continued
His curate is present in the kitchen, smoking a pipe and making a skeptical comment about soldiers praying.
Chapter XI
Performs the ecclesiastical burial, preaches a funeral sermon, and is noted for his idiosyncratic annotations on his sermons.
Chapter XIII
Yorick interposes in the conversation, leading Uncle Toby to recommend Le Fever's son.
Chapter XXII
Listens to Walter's comment about Toby's harmless nature.
Chapter XXXI
Present during Uncle Toby's apologetical oration.
My Uncle Toby’s Apologetical Oration
Referenced by Toby as having preached a sermon on Le Fever's death, prompting Toby's reflection on the nature of war.
Book VII
Alluded to in the context of Tristram's travels and the novel's digressive style.
Chapter V
Yorick quips to Eugenius that he would drink more water.
Chapter XXXII
Present in the parlour during the conversation, though he does not speak.
Chapter XXXIII
Praises Captain Shandy's opinion on love, regrets having read poets and rhetoricians, and comments that procreation is as beneficial as finding the longitude.
Chapter XXXIV
Leaves to prepare his fourth general division for the next day's attack; often attacks Walter but with restraint.
Chapter XI
His congregation coming out of church provides a full answer to half of Walter's business with his almanac.
Chapter XXXII
Attempts to temper Walter's hypothesis when Toby enters.
Endnotes
Implied through reference to 'my father's Life of Socrates' which will be printed.

Chapter companion notes

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See Mr. Yorick in book i

See Mr. Yorick in The Parson's Horse and the Midwife's Licence