Sterling Archer's Smartest Literary References, Explained

Archer has easily cemented its reputation as one of the funniest and most crass cartoons on television, but it's also one of the smartest. Among the sex jokes and violent comedy in the series, there are tons of literary references on Archer.

It's funny that despite his idiotic, egotistical nature, there are a great number of literary allusions by Sterling Archer on the show. Whether it's just a random quote by Melville or lambasting a George Orwell novella, Archer often makes deep pulls from the literary well.

Here's the definitive list of the top Sterling Archer literature references and some literary Easter eggs from the show for you to learn, read, and most importantly, rank! And, seriously, READ A BOOK.

Even wonder why butlers are commonly named "Jeeves" in popular culture? It's a decades-long reference to P.G. Wodehouse's series of humorous short stories featuring a trusted valet named Jeeves. As an homage to the writer, Archer's butler was named "Woodhouse," the phonetic spelling of Wodehouse's name.

When teaching Cyril how to be a better secret agent, Archer brings his small Chekov gun out of his undies. Renowned playwright Anton Chekov stated that if a gun is introduced in the first act, it must be fired sometime in the production or it doesn't need to be in the play.

This is mostly a script writing note to prevent unnecessary details or focus on certain props unless there is a payoff - a concept commonly referred to as "Chekov's Gun." Oddly enough, the Chekov gun in the episode doesn't fire, but a poisoned pen that was also introduced does. Therefore the episode is both adhering to and bucking the "Chekov's Gun" concept.

When eavesdropping on the astronauts taking over the international space station Horizon, Archer and the team bicker over one of the astronaut's complaints that he didn't sign up for "Animal Farm in Space." While it at first appears Archer didn't know the astronaut was referring to the George Orwell novella, he indeed does. Needless to say, he isn't a fan.

Pam Poovey is not one to mess with, especially with her street fighting skills and massive strength. But what really adds to Pam's badassery is her giant back tattoo, which if you look closely is an excerpt from Lord Byron's €"The Destruction of Sennacherib." The poem is about the Biblical story from 2 Kings, where God sends an Angel of Death to kill the Assyrian army in their sleep. Pam's tattoo, an equally obscure and badass literary reference, reads:

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

While being chewed out by his mother over his bad manners involving a prostitute, Sterling replies, "I'm sorry, I guess I skipped over the Emily Post chapter about 'How to Introduce Your Mother to a Hooker.'" Emily Post is a renowned writer about proper etiquette, but certainly didn't consider the proper way to handle such a surprising situation.

When Woodhouse describes his relationship with fellow World War I pilot Reggie, Archer candidly remarks, "Ew, gross... Didn't Oscar Wilde get hard labor for that?" This is in reference to the hard labor playwright Oscar Wilde was sentenced with following an affair with a Lord.

In an odd scene that crossed over Archer with Bob's Burgers, we see that "Bob" (who is really Archer undercover) serves up double the literary references with his new burger creation: the Emile Gorgonzola€ Burger with €œJ'accusecumbers. This refers to French writer Emile Zola and his letter, "J'Accuse."

On top of that, the Burger of the Week on the chalkboard is the Thomas Elphinstone Hambledurger with Manning Coleslaw, which refers to Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon, the protagonist in a spy novel series written by the British author Manning Coles.

A word to the wise: never ever allow yourself to be experimented on by Dr. Krieger. When Len, the leader of the rival spy agency known as ODIN, gets a mind control chip surgically implanted by Krieger, he becomes fascinated with one of the test rabbits. And the lettuce!

This, of course, is a reference to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein one of the main characters is a simple-minded man named Lennie who is obsessed with touching and petting rabbits.

When Archer and Cyril have to hide a dead body, Archer exclaims how this situation is ironic it's like O. Henry and Alanis Morrisette Had a Baby and named it "this exact situation." The situation isn't exactly ironic, but it makes for a great reference as singer Alanis Morrisette, known for her hit song "Ironic," was accused of not using the word correctly as well. Author O. Henry on the other hand was known for the ironic twists in his stories.

In a quest to get drunk on a ship, Archer creates a cocktail concoction he calls the "Horatio Cornblower." This refers to Horatio Hornblower, a ship captain in a series of novels by C.S. Forester. The "Cornblower" refers to the corn mash used to create Kentucky bourbon.