I will owe this favor forever
- I am eternally in your debt. - [Clears Throat] And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?shrek-2001 · 2001 — Chapter 4 of 7 · 3'39" · B2
Shrek Is Not Prince Charming, Explained: Prince Charming
On the surface a rescued princess wants the helmet off and the kiss the old story promises. Under that, the rescuer refuses the role. "Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming" names the mismatch, and "That wasn't in the job description" keeps the kiss outside the task he was given.
What happens
A dragon is still growling when the rescue ends. The rescued person praises the rescuer and expects true love's first kiss once the helmet is off. The face underneath is an ogre. He says Lord Farquaad sent him, and that Farquaad is the one who wants the marriage. The princess refuses to leave, says she will wait right there, and is carried off shouting to be put down.
Listen for
unorthodoxin your debthelmet hairjob description
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
Prince Charming
the perfect prince in a fairy tale
After the ogre blurt, the reply is Prince Charming: the perfect fairy-tale prince, not the person standing there.
You were expecting Prince Charming at the sink. I brought rubber gloves.
Also in this scene
- unorthodox
unusual, not the proper way
- in your debt
I owe you a lasting favor
- helmet hair
hair mashed flat by a helmet
- job description
the written list of duties
- would'st
mock-archaic thou-form of would
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 55 lines
a grand old word for a horse the listener grabs the horse compliment for himself
- I am eternally in your debt. - [Clears Throat] And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?rhetorical question: Not a real where-question; a knight is nothing without that horse.
- I am eternally in your debt. - [Clears Throat] And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?Glide through in your; don't breathe between the words.
- I am eternally in your debt. - [Clears Throat] And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?to see someone's face, old style
Please. I would'st look upon the face of my rescuer.listed in the duties the kiss was never part of the rescue task
What? That wasn't in the job description.you know the usual sequence the tower, knight, and first-kiss formula
No, it's destiny. Oh, you must know how it goes.assailed or harassed by a dragon
A princess locked in a tower and beset by a dragon...participle phrase: The two phrases modify princess: locked in a tower, and assailed by a dragon.
A princess locked in a tower and beset by a dragon...the fairy-tale first kiss
is rescued by a brave knight, and then they share true love's first kiss.not the kind of person you'd want
Let's just say I'm not your type, okay?Hit not and type; keep your light.
Let's just say I'm not your type, okay?In fast speech, going to often sheds a sound.
-Just take off the helmet. - I'm not going to.not meant to be that way
You're not supposed to be an ogre.that earlier idea is finished
So much for cancels the noble-steed compliment the moment the mood turns sour.
So much for noble steed.that trouble is yours, not mine
I'm sorry, but your job is not my problem.if-clause: The if-clause is her only condition for waiting there.
You can tell Lord Farquaad that if he wants to rescue me properly, I'll be waiting for him right here.a lowly errand-runner for messages
Hey! I'm no one's messenger boy, all right? I'm a delivery boy.a person who delivers goods rescuing her is framed as delivering a person
Hey! I'm no one's messenger boy, all right? I'm a delivery boy.casual form of you — Fine with friends; write you when it is formal.
I'm right behind ya.face the results of what you do
Put me down, or you will suffer the consequences!romantically, not as a friend
Say there's a woman that digs you, right, but you don't really like her that way.is romantically into you — Casual gossip only; skip it in formal speech.
Say there's a woman that digs you, right, but you don't really like her that way.reject someone gently
While being carried off, someone asks how to let her down real easy without getting eaten.
How do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt, but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten?burned until completely charred
How do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt, but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten?purpose clause: so gives the aim: a soft no that spares her feelings.
How do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt, but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten?Keep to and a soft so the real words stay clear.
How do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt, but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten?as gently as possible — Spoken emphasis; don't write real for really.
How do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt, but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten?double comparative: Sooner lines up with better: arriving earlier counts as the better result.
Everyone knowest what happens when you find your-- Hey! [Sighs] The sooner we get to DuLoc the better.Shrek Is Not Prince Charming, explained
What's really going on
One person already has the script written: a princess, a dragon, a brave knight, and "true love's first kiss." The praise even uses mock-archaic grammar, "thy deed is great, and thine heart is pure," and somebody gets called a "noble steed." The other person keeps dragging it back to a job. A kiss "wasn't in the job description." The helmet comes off, someone blurts "You're a-- an ogre," and the answer is "Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming." After that, the rescue looks like an errand. Lord Farquaad is named as the one who wants the marriage, and the ogre answers "I'm a delivery boy," not a messenger. The rescued person will wait "right here" unless the lord comes himself. The later question, how to let a woman down easy and not get "burned to a crisp," lands because a dragon is still growling in the scene.
Theme
IdentityThe helmet comes off and the rescuer is an ogre, not the Prince Charming the story promised.
SatireCourtly praise and true love's first kiss collapse into a job description, a delivery boy, and a refused ending.
Listen for
- in your — Glide through in your; don't breathe between the words.
- not your type — Hit not and type; keep your light.
- going to — In fast speech, going to often sheds a sound.
- to a crisp — Keep to and a soft so the real words stay clear.
But thy deed is great, and thine heart is pure.Mock-archaic storybook praise. The rescue is called a great deed and the rescuer's heart is declared pure, setting him up as the knight in the tale.
What? That wasn't in the job description.The kiss is treated as an extra the rescuer was never hired to do. A fairy-tale duty gets shoved back into the language of a paid job.
Let's just say I'm not your type, okay?A softened no. Let's just say keeps it gentle, but not your type means not the kind of person the other one would choose.
Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming.A dry name for the disappointment. The speaker sees that the other person wanted a storybook prince and says that expectation out loud.
I'm sorry, but your job is not my problem.The complaint that this rescue is getting harder is brushed off. The speaker will not take that job, or the trouble around it, as their problem.
Questions about this scene
Why does the rescuer resist taking the helmet off?
He starts with "I have helmet hair," then answers the wish to "look upon the face of my rescuer" with "No, no, you wouldn't-- 'st," and later says "I really don't think this is a good idea." He yields only after "Now!" with "Okay! Easy. As you command, Your Highness."
Why does the rescued person expect a kiss?
The rescued person treats the outcome as destiny, not a perk: "A princess locked in a tower and beset by a dragon is rescued by a brave knight, and then they share true love's first kiss." The next demand is "But how will you kiss me?"
Who is supposed to marry the princess?
Lord Farquaad. The rescuer says, "Princess, I was sent to rescue you by Lord Farquaad, okay?" and then, "He's the one who wants to marry you." He keeps himself out of that role with "Let's just say I'm not your type, okay?"
Why won't the rescued person leave with the ogre?
She says she has to be rescued "by my true love, not by some ogre and his-- his pet." Told that Farquaad wants the marriage, she asks why he did not come, and answers that she will be "waiting for him right here" if he wants to rescue her properly.
Why does the rescuer say he is a delivery boy, not a messenger?
He has just been told to pass it on: "You can tell Lord Farquaad" that she will be waiting "right here." He answers, "I'm no one's messenger boy, all right? I'm a delivery boy." Carrying her words is the part he refuses.
shrek-2001 · 7 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5the last thing on my mindPulling the Arrow from Shrek
Chapter 1worn outShrek Finds His Swamp Occupied
Chapter 2loaded pistolFarquaad Picks Princess Fiona
Chapter 3end of storyOgres Are Like Onions
Watching · 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
Chapter 7stabbing me in the backForgive You for the BackstabChapter 4 of 7 · about 8 min to go