When you shadow, let the t in what move lightly toward are.
- [Grunts] - What are you doing?shrek-2001 · 2001 — Chapter 7 of 7 · 2'57" · B2
Forgive You for the Backstab, Explained: stabbing me in the back
Two voices split one swamp with a wall: one half, the other half, because "I did half the work, I get half the booty." The quarrel slides from insults into friendship. "I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!" pretends to make peace, then accuses. By the end they call each other friends, unsure who was called ugly.
What happens
In a swamp, one voice builds a wall through it and claims half the booty for rescuing a princess. Another says the wall should circle the swamp, not cut it. They accuse each other of pushing. One says friends forgive each other; the next pardon accuses a backstab. Talk turns to Fiona and who was called ugly. They apologize, agree they're friends, then fear missing a wedding.
Listen for
of all peoplehalf the bootypushing me aroundstabbing me in the back
00:00 / 02:57Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
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Phrase of the scene
stabbing me in the back
a betrayal behind your back
Right after a line about friends forgiving, this reply names stabbing me in the back as the thing being forgiven.
I can live with jokes, not with stabbing me in the back.
Also in this scene
- of all people
you more than anyone else
- half the booty
half the loot from the job
- pushing me around
bossing someone around
- wrapped up in layers
emotionally sealed in layers
- where there's a will, there's a way
determination creates a method
Everything marked in this scene
31 notes across 55 lines
you more than anyone else
Asked what the wall is doing there, someone answers that you, of all people, should recognise a wall.
I would think, of all people, you would recognise a wall when you see one.In practice, keep of and all in one beat.
I would think, of all people, you would recognise a wall when you see one.meant to be a certain way
But the wall's supposed to go around my swamp, not through it.half the loot from the job
While splitting the swamp, someone demands half the booty for the rescue, and means loot.
I did half the work, I get half the booty.relative clause: that picks out which rock: the one like your head.
Now hand me that big old rock, the one that looks like your head.a stupid, stubborn jerk — An angry insult for someone close, not for work.
- Stubborn jackass! - Smelly ogre.not finished dealing with you
- Hey, come back here. I'm not through with you yet. - Well, I'm through with you.I am done with you
- Hey, come back here. I'm not through with you yet. - Well, I'm through with you.listen carefully
So you just shut up and pay attention!In practice, shrink and before pay instead of a full vowel.
So you just shut up and pay attention!stop talking now — A snap in a fight, not a line for a boss.
So you just shut up and pay attention!bossing someone around
Mid-argument, someone says the other person is always pushing them around or pushing them away.
You're always pushing me around or pushing me away.shove me aside
You're always pushing me around or pushing me away.why, then
Oh, yeah? Well, if I treated you so bad, how come you came back?conditional question: The if-clause grants the insult, then how come demands an answer.
Oh, yeah? Well, if I treated you so bad, how come you came back?mutually let an offense go
Because that's what friends do! They forgive each other!a betrayal behind your back
Right after a line about friends forgiving, this reply names stabbing me in the back as the thing being forgiven.
I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!For delivery, put the weight on back and keep in the quick.
I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!emotionally sealed in layers
The fake pardon fails, and the next line calls him wrapped up in layers, scared of his own feelings.
Ohh! You're so wrapped up in layers, onion boy, you're afraid of your own feelings.emphatic cleft: All ... was limits what she did to liking, maybe loving, you.
All she ever do was like you, maybe even love you.the person under discussion
She wasn't talking about you.absolutely not
Uh-uh, no way. I am not saying anything. You don't wanna listen to me.spoken form of want to — Fine in casual talk, out of place in writing.
Uh-uh, no way. I am not saying anything. You don't wanna listen to me.the point of having friends
Hey, that's what friends are for, right?arrive before it is too late
The wedding! We'll never make it in time.determination creates a method
Someone panics about the wedding, and the reply laughs, whistles, and acts as if a plan is already pocketed.
Ha-ha-ha! Never fear, for where there's a will, there's a way, and I have a way. [Whistles]charm, joked as animal allure
After the whistle, someone calls Donkey, and the laughing line puts the pull down to animal magnetism.
- Donkey? - [Donkey Laughing] I guess it's just my animal magnetism.a crude word for a suck-up — Only with close friends, never with a boss or client.
All right, all right. Don't get all slobbery. No one likes a kiss ass.grip hard and do not release
All right, hop on and hold on tight.not yet had an opportunity
I haven't had a chance to install the seat belts yet.Forgive You for the Backstab, explained
What's really going on
The wall is a measuring stick. One side wants half the booty for rescuing a princess, so a wall runs through the swamp, not around it. "You're always pushing me around or pushing me away" is the complaint: ordered about, then shut out. "With you it's always, Me, me, me!" throws the charge back. "Because that's what friends do! They forgive each other!" sets a rule. The next line makes forgive a hit: "I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!" Someone heard Fiona and took "ugly" and "a hideous creature" as personal. The answer only says she was talking about somebody else, then refuses the name. "You're so wrapped up in layers, onion boy" treats the temper as cover. Then a plain apology: "I guess I am just a big, stupid, ugly ogre. Can you forgive me?" "That's what friends are for" drops the sneer. They say friends, and a wedding deadline cuts in before her words are explained.
Theme
FriendshipA fight over half a swamp ends when they apologize and trade the word friends.
BetrayalA pardon accuses someone of a backstab, and ugly words from Fiona are taken as personal until called somebody else.
Listen for
- What are you — When you shadow, let the t in what move lightly toward are.
- of all — In practice, keep of and all in one beat.
- up and pay — In practice, shrink and before pay instead of a full vowel.
- in the back — For delivery, put the weight on back and keep in the quick.
I did half the work, I get half the booty.A claim that rescuing the princess was shared labor, so the swamp should be split down the middle as payment.
Because that's what friends do! They forgive each other!The answer to why come back at all: friends stay, and friends forgive, instead of walking off.
I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!Forgive is only the setup. The point is the accusation that the other person betrayed the speaker.
Ohh! You're so wrapped up in layers, onion boy, you're afraid of your own feelings.The onion nickname is about hiding. Layers stand for feelings the person will not let anyone touch.
You're always pushing me around or pushing me away.One complaint with two halves: being ordered around, or being pushed out of the way.
I guess I am just a big, stupid, ugly ogre.The apology agrees with the charge of ugly and adds stupid, right before asking to be forgiven.
Questions about this scene
Why does the wall run through the swamp?
One voice says it circles "your half," because helping rescue the princess was half the work, so they get half the booty. The other voice answers that a wall is supposed to go around the swamp, not through it. The rock "that looks like your head" is there to keep building that line.
Why is forgiveness paired with a backstab?
"They forgive each other!" is followed by "I forgive you... for stabbing me in the back!" Forgive stays, and the added words accuse a betrayal. A later "I'm sorry" and "Can you forgive me?" drop the accusation.
Who was Fiona talking about?
Someone is sure the words were "ugly, a hideous creature" and says "I heard the two of you talking." The reply is "She wasn't talking about you" and "She was talking about, uh, somebody else." Asked who, the answer is "I am not saying anything." The lines never give the name.
Do the two of them make up?
"I'm sorry" is said twice, then "I guess I am just a big, stupid, ugly ogre" and "Can you forgive me?" The reply is "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" One voice answers "Right. Friends?" and the other says "Friends." The wedding worry starts after that.
shrek-2001 · 7 chapters
All chapters →
Chapter 1worn outShrek Finds His Swamp Occupied
Chapter 2loaded pistolFarquaad Picks Princess Fiona
Chapter 3end of storyOgres Are Like Onions
Chapter 4Prince CharmingShrek Is Not Prince Charming
Chapter 5the last thing on my mindPulling the Arrow from Shrek
Chapter 6wake up and smell the pheromonesShrek's Dinner with the Princess
Watching · Chapter 7stabbing me in the backForgive You for the BackstabThat's all 7 chapters of this film