Movie Class – 9 The King’s Speech (1:17:38 – 1:26:46)
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Main Characters:
1. Albert: a.k.a. Bertie, the Duke of York, King George VI, played by Colin Firth
2. Elizabeth: the Duchess of York, the Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter
3. Lionel Logue: a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush
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Scene 1: In Lionel’s House
1. waiting for a King to apologize, one can wait rather a long wait: a reference to a
previous line where Bertie said he didn’t like to start conversations. Here, he is
saying a King can’t apologize first in a relationship, so you could be waiting forever
2. off you go. Or must I knock your heads together?: do I actually need to scold you to
make you go to the other room? Said as a sarcastic joke
3. I went about it the wrong way: I chose the wrong words or way to give you advice
4. going back to square one: return to the starting point; lose the benefit of any training
5. placards: a poster or sign for public display
6. my predecessor is not only alive, but very much so: the previous King I
replaced—my brother David—is alive and also living his life to the fullest
7. bloody mess: a big complicated or messy situation
8. precisely: exactly; completely accurate and without mistake
9. you’re very much your own man: you are actually quite in control of your life and
don’t allow other people to tell you what to do
10. you’re being a coward // you’re damn right: you’re not being very brave; showing
courage // of course I’m not, I’m afraid of my wife
11. we’d love to. Such a treat. Alas, a previous engagement. What a pity: we would be
happy to stay, it would be a pleasure. But we have other plans. It’s a shame.
Scene 2: In the Cathedral
12. Archbishop: the highest ranking bishop in that area; here, the man is the Archbishop
of Canterbury and, as such, the top leader of the Church of England, which is why he
is so close to and can give advice to the King so easily; a bishop is a member of the
Christian clergy—people with religious duties—and responsible for an area
13. what a glorious transformation: the building looks much more beautiful than it used
to now that it’s ready for the Coronation—the ceremony where the King is crowned
14. into the nave: into the central part of the church, that accommodates most people
15. I see all your pronouncements are to be broadcast: it seems your declarations or
speeches will be broadcasted over the radio
16. a Pandora’s box: from the phrase “open Pandora’s box”; something that seems
small or inoffensive but that can have disastrous and far-reaching consequences
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17. I’m afraid I’ve also had to permit the newsreel cameras—the product of which I shall
personally edit // without momentary hesitations?: a newsreel is a short documentary
film that contained news stories to be shown in movie theaters; it was a very popular
format in the first half of the 20th century before the television era. The Archbishop
said although he accepted the ceremony be filmed, he would make sure there was
nothing improper in the filmed material. Lionel asks if he means stammering
18. had I known that Your Majesty was seeking assistance, I should have made my own
recommendation: if I had known the King was trying to cure his stammer, I would
have found and encouraged him to consult a proper doctor with experience
19. the Dean: the head of the abbey
20. we need the premises // my dear fellow, this is Westminster Abbey: Lionel casually
says they need the abbey for themselves and the Archbishop answers in a superior
tone that it’s a silly demand that can’t possibly be granted
21. I will place the Abbey at Your Majesty’s disposal: I will let the King use the abbey
Scene 3: Bertie & Lionel Practice
22. I can’t believe I’m walking on Chaucer and Handel and Dickens: these three famous
people—a poet, a composer and a writer—are all buried in Westminster Abbey
23. let’s get cracking: let’s get started; let’s start practicing
24. a great deal of nerve // the Star Chamber Inquisition, is it?: you have a lot of guts //
am I being judged? The Star Chamber was a Court of Law in Medieval England
25. I recited in pubs. I taught elocution in schools: I did theater or read poetry in pubs
and taught children how to speak clearly and pronounce words well in schools
26. when the Great War came, all our soldiers were returning to Australia from the front,
a lot of them shell-shocked, unable to speak: after WWI, many soldiers had been
severely wounded or seen others be, and couldn’t speak because of the trauma
27. you’re very good at this speech stuff, do you think you could help these poor
buggers?: you’re good at helping people speak clearly, can you help these poor men
28. those poor young blokes had cried in fear: these young men saw such scary things
during the war that they literally cried
29. give them faith in their own voice: I just made them feel confident about speaking
30. that must ring a few bells with you: that must sound familiar to you, as you stammer
31. you give a very noble account of yourself: you make yourself look good in your story
32. you have no idea who I have breathing down my neck: you can’t imagine how many
people are keeping a close watch on everything I do
33. I vouched for you, and you have no credentials: I told people to trust you, but you
have no qualifications or anything to certify you are a doctor
34. my plaque says “L. Logue, Speech Defects” […] there are no letters after my name:
the sign on my door doesn’t say I’m a doctor; the letters “M.D.” are not written
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