Posted on 01/05/2011 8:58:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind
There are many forms of irony – verbal, dramatic, situational and so on – but the one that surely applied to King George VI was the irony of fate. It was as if the gods, or Fates, were amusing themselves by toying with his mind, mocking his failings, reminding him that he was very much a mortal. It was, after all, almost impossible for him to pronounce the letter 'k’, thanks to his debilitating nervous stammer. A cruel fate for a king.
Even crueller, his reign coincided with a revolution in mass communication. For the first time in British history, subjects could listen to their monarch addressing them through their wireless sets, as if he were with them in their living rooms.
But the technology didn’t allow George VI to pre-record his broadcasts, as would be the case for the generations that followed. When he addressed the nation, it had to be done through a live microphone, without editing, an agony for a stammerer.
The layers of irony did not end there. Because he had been told that cigarettes might help with his stammer, George VI chain-smoked – and he consequently died of lung cancer at the age of 56 in 1952. And the greatest irony of all? This vulnerable and stammering king proved to be exactly the right man at the right time.
The stammering that defined him, and the courage with which he tried to beat it, came to symbolise the vulnerability of the British people as they stood alone against the Nazi tyranny that had the rest of Europe in its grip. A certain solidarity between monarch and subject emerged, especially when George VI overruled requests from the government that he and his family relocate to the safety of Canada.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter all deserve Oscars for their performances, IMO. I would vote for this film to receive the "Best Picture" Oscar if I could.
Haven’t seen it yet. Thanks for the tip!
Hitler really thought the king was in charge? We know Adolph was a dolt but was he that stupid?
It’s nice to know that movies without flash-bang special effects and CGI can still make an impression.
LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.