How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Quote #4
RUDE FRENCHMAN: You don't frighten us with your silly knees-bent running around advancing behavior!
Nothing like ridicule to puncture one's confidence and reverse the power dynamic. Political cartoonists know this well.
Quote #5
ARTHUR: Knights of Ni, we are but simple travelers who seek the enchanter who lives beyond these woods.
KNIGHT WHO SAYS NI: Ni! Ni! Ni! Ni!
ARTHUR AND PARTY: Oh, ow!
KNIGHT WHO SAYS NI We shall say "ni" again to you if you do not appease us.
ARTHUR: Well, what is it you want?
KNIGHT WHO SAYS NI: We want... a shrubbery!
ARTHUR: A what?
KNIGHT WHO SAYS NI: Ni! Ni!
ARTHUR AND PARTY: Oh, ow!
ARTHUR: Please, please! No more! We shall find a shrubbery.
We're not sure what's up with the word "ni", but we can't help but agree that it's rather terrifying. Maybe it's the malice with which it's said, or maybe the fact that few hear it and live to tell the tale. Even Arthur resorts to using it to torture a poor old lady. Language once again, is a means to control other people, even kings.