The best Wit and Hoid quotes are the ones that hide a lesson inside a joke. Hoid, the ancient worldhopper who serves as the King’s Wit in the Stormlight Archive, uses stories, insults and blunt confessions to push Kaladin, Shallan and Dalinar forward. Below are his strongest lines, each with book, chapter and context.
Who is Wit, and why are his quotes different?
Wit is the court title Hoid holds on Roshar, first as King Elhokar Kholin’s jester and later as Queen Jasnah Kholin’s. Coppermind describes Hoid as a worldhopper born on the planet Yolen before the Shattering of Adonalsium, who wanders the Cosmere in the guise of a fool or a storyteller. Wit quotes stand apart from the rest of the Stormlight Archive because almost every one does two jobs at once: the surface line is a joke or an insult, and the line underneath is advice the listener is not ready to hear. Hoid also refuses to be fully trusted, which colours even his kindest lines. Our profile Who Is Hoid? Wit Across the Cosmere Explained covers his history; this list focuses on what he says. Spoiler note: quotes and context run through Wind and Truth and The Sunlit Man.
What are Wit’s best quotes about stories?
“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.”
Wit to Kaladin, The Way of Kings, chapter 57
The Wandersail scene in The Way of Kings is where Wit’s whole method is laid out. Hoid finds Kaladin by a fire on the Shattered Plains, at a moment when Kaladin is frightened by his new Radiant powers, and plays a Trailman’s flute while the smoke seems to take the shape of the story of Derethil and the Wandersail. According to Coppermind, he told the story to teach Kaladin to take responsibility, then gave him the flute and asked him to look after Sigzil, his former apprentice. The storyteller line is the thesis of every Wit scene that follows: he never hands Kaladin an answer, he leaves him holding a question. Readers who want one quote that explains Hoid should start with this one.
“I am an artist. I should thank you not to demean me by insisting my art must be trying to accomplish something.”
Wit to Kaladin, Rhythm of War, chapter 80
The Dog and the Dragon chapter in Rhythm of War flips the storyteller joke on its head. Kaladin, trapped in a vision built by Odium and Moash to break him, accuses Wit of always having a point, and Wit pretends to be offended that anyone would expect art to accomplish something. The line is funny precisely because the scene proves the opposite: Coppermind notes that Hoid and his Cryptic Design appear in the vision to tell the story so they can cheer Kaladin up and point him in the right direction. How that night ends is covered in Rhythm of War Ending Explained.
What does Wit say to Kaladin?
“What do you want, then?” / “What I can’t have. Same as everyone else.”
Kaladin and Wit, Words of Radiance, chapter 55
Words of Radiance chapter 55 holds the funniest Kaladin and Wit exchange in the series, and one of the saddest. Coppermind places it in Sebarial’s warcamp, where Hoid is driving Adolin’s carriage and teases Kaladin about the flute he gave him. Kaladin insists he is a soldier, not a musician, and Wit replies that “all people are musicians. The question is whether or not they share their songs.” Then Kaladin asks what Wit actually wants, and the jester drops the act for one line: what he cannot have, the same as everyone else. For a man who claims, a few lines earlier, to know “almost everything,” that is a rare admission, and it lands harder on a reread once you know how old Hoid really is.
What does Wit tell Shallan?
“You’re not a monster, Shallan. Oh, child. The world is monstrous at times, and there are those who would have you believe that you are terrible by association.”
Wit to Shallan, Oathbringer, chapter 82
Oathbringer chapter 82 gives Wit the line many fans consider his kindest. Shallan is splitting between Veil and Radiant and has convinced herself she is the monster of her own story. Wit tells her The Girl Who Looked Up, then refuses to let her logic stand: when she insists that she is terrible, he says the association flows the other direction, and that the world is better for its association with her. The scene matters because Wit does not comfort her with a lie, which would be easy for a man who can weave illusions. He gives her a reframing she can actually test against her own life. Shallan’s own best lines are collected in Best Shallan Davar Quotes: Wit, Lies and Truth.
What are Wit’s funniest insults?
“If you spend your life knocking people down, you eventually find they won’t stand up for you. There’s poetry in that, don’t you think, you storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge?”
Wit to Ruthar, Rhythm of War, chapter 50
Wit’s insults are the reason many readers fell for him in the first place, and the sharpest are aimed at people who abuse power. Coppermind notes that Hoid finds great joy in tormenting those he hates, naming Ruthar, Rayse and Kelsier, and that this is likely why he enjoys jester roles like the King’s Wit. In Rhythm of War chapter 50, Ruthar challenges Wit after being insulted, Wit names Jasnah as his champion, and Jasnah stabs the highprince through the throat before having Renarin heal him. Wit then drops a bloody handkerchief in front of Ruthar and delivers the line above. The first half is a genuine observation about cruelty; the second half is pure Wit, a Rosharan curse too vivid to soften.
What are Hoid’s most honest quotes?
“If I have to watch this world crumble and burn to get what I need, I will do so. With tears, yes, but I would let it happen.”
Hoid to Dalinar, Words of Radiance, chapter 67
Hoid’s most honest lines are warnings about himself. In Words of Radiance chapter 67 he tells Dalinar Kholin that although he is a friend, their goals do not completely align, and that he would let the world burn to get what he needs. Coppermind cites that chapter and Oathbringer chapter 68 as moments where Hoid deliberately reminds people not to rely on him. Oathbringer 68 is also where he calls himself the bones of a foreign species left on a dried sea floor, and where he says “power is a knife,” one that cannot be wielded without cutting yourself. Read together, these quotes explain why Wit is lovable but never safe. The jester voice is real, and so is the ruthless pragmatist underneath it. Dalinar’s answers to him are in Best Dalinar Kholin Quotes.
What does Hoid say in other Cosmere books?
“I was wrong. I did the best with the situation I had, hoping it would prevent calamity. I ruined your life, and I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Hoid to Sigzil, The Sunlit Man, chapter 10
The Sunlit Man apology is the rarest kind of Hoid quote, because nothing in it is a joke. Sigzil, his former apprentice, is now the wandering Nomad, and Coppermind explains what Hoid is apologizing for: at the end of Wind and Truth, immediately after Retribution was born, Hoid asked Sigzil to briefly take up the Dawnshard he held so Retribution could not acquire it, and Hoid’s body on Roshar was destroyed seconds later. Hoid owning that mistake plainly is the clearest sign that the trickster has a conscience. His motto elsewhere in the Cosmere is lighter; in the Elantris postscript he tells a skaze, “There is beauty in every disaster, friend, if you are clever enough to find it.” The worlds he crosses are mapped in The Cosmere Explained.
Where do the best Wit quotes appear?
| Wit or Hoid quote | Said to | Book and chapter |
|---|---|---|
| “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think…” | Kaladin | The Way of Kings, 57 |
| “What I can’t have. Same as everyone else.” | Kaladin | Words of Radiance, 55 |
| “If I have to watch this world crumble and burn…” | Dalinar | Words of Radiance, 67 |
| “I am the bones of a foreign species…” | On himself | Oathbringer, 68 |
| “You’re not a monster, Shallan.” | Shallan | Oathbringer, 82 |
| “There’s poetry in that, don’t you think…” | Ruthar | Rhythm of War, 50 |
| “I am an artist.” | Kaladin | Rhythm of War, 80 |
| “I ruined your life, and I was wrong. I’m sorry.” | Sigzil | The Sunlit Man, 10 |
Frequently asked questions
Who is Wit in the Stormlight Archive?
Wit is the court title held on Roshar by Hoid, a worldhopper born on Yolen before the Shattering of Adonalsium. He serves first as King Elhokar’s jester and later as Queen Jasnah Kholin’s Wit, using jokes, insults and stories to steer people like Kaladin, Shallan and Dalinar. The same man appears across the Cosmere under other names.
What is Wit’s most famous quote?
One of the best-known Wit lines is from The Way of Kings, chapter 57: “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.” He says it to Kaladin during the Wandersail story, and it sums up how Wit behaves in every later book.
What story does Wit tell Kaladin in Rhythm of War?
In Rhythm of War chapter 80, Wit and his Cryptic Design appear inside a vision that Odium and Moash built to break Kaladin. Wit tells him the story of the Dog and the Dragon, to cheer him up and point him in the right direction.
What does Wit say to Shallan in Oathbringer?
In Oathbringer chapter 82, Wit tells Shallan the story of The Girl Who Looked Up and then tells her she is not a monster. The world is monstrous at times, he says, but she is not worse for her association with it; the world is better for its association with her.
Why does Wit insult people so much?
According to Coppermind, Hoid finds great joy in tormenting people he hates, such as Ruthar, Rayse and Kelsier, and that is likely a major reason he enjoys jester roles like the King’s Wit. Many people who deal with him despise him for the constant mockery.
The Way of Kings is the perfect entry point. Available in print, Kindle, and audiobook.
The Stormlight Archive audiobooks - narrated by Michael Kramer & Kate Reading - are 40–57 hours each. The best use of a commute in fantasy history.
