56 pages • 1 hour read
The King's Speech
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Symbols & Motifs
Speeches
Throughout the book, speeches function as an important motif. As the story returns to the need for the Duke/King to deliver a speech, his growing confidence and importance is charted. This is particularly true of the Christmas broadcasts, which begin as a seemingly insurmountable hurdle and finish as one of the King’s most vaunted achievements. Each new speech and broadcast demonstrate how well he is combating his speech impediment, helps to fortify the bond between him and Logue, and connects him to his subjects.
The Duke recruits Logue with the aim of helping him address the speech impediment that has held him back for his entire life. In particular, this has prevented the young royal from speaking in public. As a member of the royal family, this is one of the few expectations placed on the Duke. Furthermore, his father—King George V—has become famous for his ability to deliver yearly broadcasts to the entire Empire. George V is an excellent speaker and respected for his ability to inspire his subjects. In comparison to his father, Bertie’s speeches are weak and ineffective. At the beginning of the text, before Logue is recruited, the speeches represent a threat to Bertie’s sanity and a drain on his self-confidence.
Logue’s teachings and techniques provide the King with a way to combat his speech impediment. Slowly at first, the speeches begin improve. More and more, these speeches are quoted in the text. Also quoted are the reactions in the press. At first, these speeches result in a string of articles which express surprise at the improvement. The speeches, as a motif, represent the progress that is being made. They chart the way in which the stammer is slowly being reduced by Logue and his techniques.
As well as the speeches themselves, the mise-en-scene in the speeches is important symbolically. At first, Logue keeps a close eye on his patient. He is in the room, reading along with every single word, already aware of which words and phrases might pose a problem. Increasingly, he is able to leave the King alone. This is particularly notable during the Christmas broadcasts. Logue is gradually replaced by the Queen. While not an expert, she is able to provide the kind of moral support to her husband which Logue can also provide. The King knows all of the techniques by this point, but still needs assistance in dealing with his emotional state. Thus, the role of the Queen and the bond she shares with her husband is expressed through who is present during the speeches.
When the Queen replaces Logue in the room, Logue returns home, and in doing so becomes a member of the audience. The role of the audience is important. On a symbolic level, the speeches are only important because there is an audience present. The King delivers speeches to rooms filled with important people and broadcasts his words to hundreds of millions of subjects. If he was speaking to no one, his speech impediment might still be a problem, but it the scale of its impact would be greatly reduced. The audience, therefore, raises the stakes of overcoming the stammer. As Bertie rises from Duke to King, more and more people depend on his words. When World War Two breaks out, he plays an important role in rallying the British Empire against the Nazis. The symbolic meaning of the speech is altered by the size of the audience: because the audience is so large and so dependent on the speaker, the gradual improvement of the King’s speeches is presented as a victory not just over his own problems, but a victory for the Empire itself.
Official Titles
Many characters in the book enjoy a change in name or title. These changes function as motifs, helping to signify the progress or advancement made in social contexts. With numerous characters holding the title of King, the changes are key moments in the narrative and carry different meanings for each of the characters. Likewise, even characters who are not considered part of the aristocracy can enjoy social progress through changes in name and titles.
Perhaps the most obvious character to progress through a number of names and titles is King George VI. He is known by many names throughout the book. The opening line lists his full name: “Albert Frederick Arthur George” (16) and does not mention his surname (Windsor, changed to sound more British during times of conflict with Germany). Albert becomes Bertie when he is a child, a nickname applied that denotes familiarity and closeness. It is a name used by close family or his wife, one that would not dare be used by those of a lower social class. When Bertie grows up, his is awarded the title of the Duke of York. In the text, he is thereafter referred to as the Duke, rather than Bertie. The Duke has grown up, has more social responsibilities and this change in title symbolizes this new maturity. Finally, the Duke becomes the King. The circumstances in which this change takes place are complicated and entirely unexpected. Unlike the title of Duke, the title of King was always meant to go to someone else. King George VI, as he is now known, is a man out of his depth. He is uncomfortable and the title chafes. Unlike the way in which Duke symbolized maturity, King symbolizes discomfort and a mountainous challenge to overcome. With each change—Bertie to Duke to King—there is more responsibility and the stammer becomes more of an issue. These changes in title symbolize the difficulty that the King is facing.
While royalty enjoy a great many titles (many of which are listed in the book), Logue is a commoner. He is not even a doctor, so is known simply by his last name. However, this name becomes more and more famous. As the story of his work with the King spreads, the name “Logue” begins to carry a certain weight. He may not be a doctor or an aristocrat, but ‘Logue’ itself becomes something of a title, representing a certain quality of speech therapy that had hitherto not existed. The name Logue comes to symbolize the overcoming of a speech impediment and the nascent profession of speech therapist. Added to this, Logue begins to acquire honorifics. He is included in the King’s coronation honors (though he is notably never knighted). These functions as rewards, signifying the gratitude of the royal family. That this gratitude is expressed in titles is a reflection of their social standing: they are trying to elevate Logue to a certain social level, which is reflective of the importance of their own station. The royal family are defined by their titles, so the handing out of titles represents an expression of their fundamental being.
Children
Children play an important role in the book, functioning as a symbol for innocence. Bertie’s own childhood is marked by its strange and spartan nature. The way in which the youngest members of the royal family are raised might seem almost alien to a modern reader. The young royals’ parents are hardly involved in their children’s lives. The children are raised mostly by nannies and governesses, whose behavior is strict and sometimes violent. The children see their parents for an hour every day, when they are presented to the adults almost like circus acts or curiosities. As a result, Bertie’s relationship with his father seems cold and distant. With less than an hour a day in which to get to know his father, Bertie’s struggles to communicate are exacerbated. As a child, his speech impediment impacts his relationship with his parents. As an adult, he grows closer to his father, able to spend more time with him and able to communicate better. His childhood, in this sense, is a lost opportunity, a time of innocence worsened by the inability to speak.
Bertie’s own children are raised very differently. The book is adamant about the adorable nature of the young princesses. Logue’s own diaries and contemporary newspaper reports are quoted extensively, depicting a warm and close relationship between father, mother, and children. The warmth of this relationship is juxtaposed against the relationship of Bertie with his own father. Just as he has learned how to overcome his stammer, Bertie has learned the importance of a close and personal relationship with his innocent young daughters. Indeed, the only time when he seems to be unsure of their behavior comes when Elizabeth is an adult and chooses her future husband. Her choice, seemingly in her parents’ opinion is a poor one. However, she is eventually permitted to marry the man she loves, even if the political situation is not ideal. Bertie retains the lost innocence of his own childhood and is seemingly determined not to do the same to his own daughters. He dotes on them, affording them the warmth that he never had.
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