 | |
| PERFORMER | Denzel Washington |
| DEBUT | 1990 |
Henry Wadsworth Wrongfellow is the greatest writer of Grouch poetry. He gives a reading of his works at the library in Sesame Street Episode 2718.
While Oscar the Grouch and other Grouches naturally expect him to be a Grouch (with Oscar mentally picturing him as such, storing pencils in his beard), Wrongfellow is in fact, as specified by the script, "a very elegant refined gentleman." He's unfailingly polite and genteel in his speech and all interactions, admitting he admires Grouches ("One certainly knows where one stands with a Grouch"). Since Wrongfellow isn't one (not even in temperament), he instead captures the Grouch zeitgeist in his poetry. While the audience loves his work, the fact that the great poet is so overjoyed to be in the presence of Grouches is a little harder for them to accept. He takes a particular shine to Oscar, who he infuriates with his steady stream of sincere compliments.
As an orator of his own works, however, Wrongfellow proves capable of displaying the fervent Grouch spirit (to where Oscar asks him not to chat with him, just recite).
The character's name parodies Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, while his works include "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy, Windy, Horrible Evening" and, in a variation of the Hamlet soliloquy, a new piece which declares "To be a Grouch or not to be a Grouch." (In this rendition, there is no question.)
