# W. G. Nicholson explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A brief limerick about W. G. Nicholson, a banker from Detroit, who humorously describes installing a machine gun, pill box, and tank in his bank to deter potential robbers, noting that the 'petermen' (criminals) no longer visit.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Satire

The chapter uses a limerick to humorously depict a banker's extreme security measures.

### Work and Profession

Highlights the profession of banking and the lengths taken to protect financial institutions.

## Character check-ins

### W. G. Nicholson

The banker who installed military defenses in his bank.

## Key lines

> I’ve installed in my bank A machine gun, a pill box, a tank.

I have set up a machine gun, a pill box, and a tank inside my bank.

_Describes the exaggerated defensive measures taken by the banker._

> Do the dear petermen Call around now and then? No, they don’t to be perfectly frank.

Do the criminals still visit occasionally? No, they do not, to be honest.

_Indicates that the security measures have successfully deterred robbers._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/w-g-nicholson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters