History Boys: Characters...

Boys: ‘they are bright, brighter than last years’. But that’s not enough apparently.’ (Mrs Lintott)

Posner :

·         Investigatory

o   ‘Posner looks the word up in the dictionary’

·         Young, quite naïve

o   ‘‘I’d go. I’m never asked.’ (about Hector’s motorbike) ‘You don’t fit the bill. Me neither. (Timms) ‘I tell you, be grateful.’’

·         Considered quite useless, young- jokes made out of him

o   ‘the otiose- (points at Posner)’

o   ‘useless knowledge. Can I go, sir?’

o   ‘Not Posner, though, sir. Posner’s, like, y’know, Jewish. One of the several things Posner doesn’t have.’ (Posner mouths ‘fuck off’ to Lockwood)

Dakin:

·         Thinks highly of himself

o   ‘We are fucking clever’

o   ‘You should treat us with more respect. We’re scholarship candidates now.’

o   ‘course she likes me’

o   ‘Foreskins and stuff. Ooh, sir! You devil!’

·         Cares extensively about his appearance; what others think of him

o   ‘He’ll think I’m a right fool.’

o   ‘Can I bring you up to speed on Fiona?’

·         Others hold him in a high status; teachers initially refrain from praising him

o   Others put him in a high status; teachers refrain from praises

o   ‘‘And Dakin?’ ‘Yes, sir?’ ‘Don’t take the piss. There isn’t time.’

o    ‘what a wanker’ (Timms sticking up for Dakin)

o   Described as ‘cunt-struck’ (Totty)

Scripps:

·         Sees himself as a practicing Christian

o   ‘Go to church, pray…It’s time consuming. You’ve no idea.’

·         Light-hearted

o   ‘I suspect even the vicar thinks I’m a freak. But the big man is glad.’

o   ‘So much for our glorious dead.’

o   ‘Poz’ (to Posner)

·         Others see him as someone to turn to, understanding

·         ‘Scripps. You believe in God. Believe also in me: forget Oxford and Cambridge. Why do you want to go there?’

Rudge:

·         Comes across less knowledgeable than the others

o   ‘what were A levels then?’

·         Put down by teachers

o   ‘One oddity. Rudge. Determined to try for Oxford and Christ Church of all places. No hope.’

o   ‘He hits you if he likes you. He never touches me.’

·         Thought of highly by boys due to his sex-life

o   ‘‘Rudge is having sex apparently’ (Dakin) ‘only on Fridays. I need weekends free for rugger. And golf.’’

Lockwood:

·         Occasionally inappropriate

o   ‘’That’s not racist though, sir.’ ‘Isn’t it?’ (Crowther) ‘It’s race-related, but not racist.’’

o   ‘Shall we have a cigarette in it?’

·         Regularly hit by Hector for language

o   ‘So I’ll thank you (hitting him) if nobody mentions Oxford (hit) or Cambridge (hit) in my lessons.’

Akthar:

·         Quietly outspoken

o   ‘You have to lock the doors sir. We have a nation full of shoplifters, sir.’

o   ‘this isn’t your gap year, is it, sir?’

·         Portrays his view regardless of others’

o   ‘couldn’t do that, sir. It’s not education, it’s culture.’

o   Actually, I’ve not got one either. Moslems don’t.’

Timms:

·         Expresses opinions willingly

o   ‘Sir, I don’t always understand poetry’

o    ‘The hitting never hurt. It  was a joke. None of us cared. We lapped it up.’

·         Takes on the role of the ‘class clown’

o   ‘How?’ (Crowther) ‘Cheat?’

o   ‘A joke? Are jokes going to be a feature, sir? We have to know, as it affects our mindset.’

·         Hector insults him due to his playful nature

o   ‘foul-festering, grubby-minded little trolops- do not use that word (hits)’

Crowther:

·         Outspoken

o   ‘You’re not supposed to hit us, sir. We could report you, sir.’

History Boys: Act One Overview

History Boys: Act One Events, Findings, Comedic Value…

Events:

·         Irwin directing MPs

·         Classroom: Hector arrives with boys…interesting style of teaching

·         Headmaster introduced….talks with Mrs Lintott, Hector, Irwin

§  ‘you are?’ ‘Irwin.’ ‘Irwin?’ ‘The supply teacher.’ ‘Quite so.’

·         Hector teaching:

·         French, in a brothel

·         Irwin and head enter- comical situation

·         Irwin proves to out-smart Hector

§  ‘Il est commotionne, pout-etre?’

‘Comment?’

 ‘Commotionne, shell-shocked’

 

·         Hector takes Scripps on the bike:

§  ‘The things I do for Jesus’ (Scripps)

·         Irwin teaches- trying to be controversial

·         Hector and Totty discuss Irwin

§   ‘depressingly so’ (Irwin being ‘clever’)

·         Irwin ‘contro’ teaching

·         Hectors’ lessons

§  Hits boys: ‘we could report you, sir’

·         Rudge expresses issues on Irwin to Totty

·         Head finds out about Hector through his wife

§  Hector responds with a lot of diversions: talking about poetry rather than the serious matter at hand

·         Posner and Hector talk about poetry, Dakin doesn’t join

§  ‘pornography, no matter’ (Hector about Irwin and Dakin)

Findings & Comedic Value:

·         Expressed as a situation comedy style play

§  Situation driven: Head- morally upright, sparking comedic responses

·         Element of farce: farcical humour  expressed

§  Acting out a brothel in French…headteacher walks in with Irwin

·         Relatable themes

§   Characters- gender specific, like everyday folk

§  Setting- classroom; very relatable in terms of education, what goes on there…

§  Time period- 80s; reasonably modern

·         Contrast between characters creating comedic outcomes

§  Posner- Jewish, uncertain on sexuality, nerd

§  Dakin- good looking, ‘seeing’ head’s secretary

·         Contrast of themes: light hearted humour over serious topics, causing tension/ lack of ease

§  Hector’s eccentricity avoided in conversation, admired rather than appalled at

§  Use of denial: Hector covers up acts with use of poetry

§  ‘Not sure if she’d care’ (Hector, about his wife)

·         Boys

§  Relatable

§  Stereotypical characters with certain characteristics, motives, drives

§  Differences bring comedy between each other

§  Everyone shares views amongst each other; discuss openly religions, views

·         Teachers

§  Stereotypical- eccentric, controversial new teacher, rigid head, shocking lady

·         Gender issues between characters

§  Fiona only mentioned for sexual references

§  Treated as sexually objectified

§  Mrs Lintott: often shocking language used- trying to earn respect from guys, does it by using derogatory terms to her own gender ‘women have to be double as good to get half as much praise’ feminist theme...

Auden Type b Question...

Do you think that Auden’s poems are dominated by death?

I think that Auden’s poems are not dominated by death- rather associated with life, and the sufferings endured before death than the physical action. This may be a reflection on his own life also.

A lot of Auden’s poems are story-like, with a continual theme of characters, settings, studying people’s livelihoods and reactions to events. This suggests that the major theme is events associated with life, rather than death itself.

 In ‘Miss Gee’; although her death is one of the large events in the poem, the event of it taking place is played down- being completed in just one stanza, although her life has been a running theme throughout. Comments from other characters, such as the dialogue between the doctor and his wife- ‘she’s a goner, I fear’ leaves the reader with a sense of dignity lost on Miss Gee’s behalf- as she is spoken of as if she were an object or someone less worthy of stereotypical doctor speak. This adds to the point that Auden’s poetry plays down death and increasingly comments on causes, especially life itself. This could also be a reflection on Auden’s own life experiences, as he may feel that life isn’t what it’s said to be- and soon followed by abrupt death.

In ‘1^st September 1939’; which is the day that Germany invaded Poland, there is an obvious link to death, as WWII is about to be declared a few days after. However, this poem does not revel in the event of death- but rather, talks of ‘evil’ the feelings of ‘defenceless[ness]’ and support: ‘show an affirming flame’, though still with the underlining knowledge that ‘we must suffer them all again’. As Auden writes the poem relevant to a collective group as soldiers and normal men that have to fight, building a sense of life and community into an initially dark topic. He speaks of the ‘unmentionable’ and says of things that have ‘driven a culture mad’- but does not speak of the death itself, suggesting that this poem is more dominated by reactions and suffering, rather than death.

In ‘Victor’, there are only implications of death, although Victor kills Anna, his wife. As there are orders from the ‘river’ to simply ‘kill’ Anna, there is a large association with obeying what he has known. This could be relevant to Auden’s life, as he observed the Spanish Civil War, and would have picked up on the brutality of higher beings ordering to ‘kill’ other men, and having to respond in that way. The idea of greater powers and turning extreme against or for them runs throughout, as Victor is told to be ‘sat in a corner’ saying: ‘I am the alpha and omega, I shall come to judge the earth one day’- taking the role of God into a perspective of a human that has lost control. Victor may have ended up killing his wife, as a result of his Dad, who he refers to as being ‘in heaven’, who he remembers previously saying: ‘don’t you ever tell lies’...and consequently, as Anna has lied to him, he has to undergo the duty that his ‘father’ sees fit. Auden is known to have had a Catholic faith in the past, but this is halted when he chooses to turn gay. This indecisiveness and theme of judgement may be as result of his previous experiences with concerns to his faith.

Overall, I think that largely, Auden’s poems are based on life, people, suffering, effects and results of it. This is clear in a lot of the poems, and death is quite low-key in most of them. This is continually played down in his poems, and may be as a result of traumas or sufferings he has personally experienced- due to his faith, sexuality, experiences of War.

Response to Poem: Musée des Beaux Arts

Musée des Beaux Arts is unique in the sense that Auden regularly writes poems that are story-like and contain narrative elements, but Musée des Beaux Arts is quite the opposite; being more like a summary of two paintings than having many poetical or narrative features.

Musée des Beaux Arts has quite a divide between the three stanzas. The first stanza is about a painting on the birth of Jesus; evident from the line; ‘the miraculous birth’. It almost comes across as being quite sarcarstic, saying: ‘the dreadful martyrdom’; seeming almost laughable at a serious event.

The first stanza is considerably longer to the other two; totalling at 14 lines- which is an odd length for a stanza to be; potentially emphasising the partial irrelevance of this stanza, or at a personal level, what Auden believes to be interpreted as the birth of Christ being irregular or unnecessary.

The first two lines state: ‘about suffering they were never wrong, the Old Masters: how well they understood’, which gives the impression that he almost idolises these painters, rather than the faith that he was brought up in (Catholic).

The 15^th line is interestingly placed on its own as a separate stanza to both the former and latter. It states: ‘scratches its innocent behind on a tree’. Auden is talking about ‘the torturer’s horse’ and the line seems rather comical and obscure in an observing poem. But hence the title, ‘observing poem’; it fits its requirements- as Auden wants to put a realistic, out-of-place twist on events, to make the reader question what has been fed to them from teachers and adults alike from a young age. By separating this line, Auden develops a sense of controversy, but makes it seem legitimate by talking of it as fact- and giving the impression that this painting is the unspoken reality.

In the last stanza, consisting of 8 lines; Auden talks of another poem that could have been overlooked in reality in the form of ‘Breughel’s Icarus’.

Auden gives the impression of it being a commentary with phrases such as: ‘for instance’; as he is merely commenting on others’ artwork, as a finishing touch to add to masterpiece already existing.

He states that ‘everything turns away quite leisurely from disaster’; which could be perceived as a response to how society acts, or a thought-provoking statement for the reader. He gives examples of people who do not care much for the death of Icarus, for ‘the ploughman’, it was not an ‘important failure’, so he took no action on the event. For ‘the expensive delicate ship’ that ‘must’ have seen, had ‘somewhere’ to get to so sailed ‘calmly’ on. As Auden puts the perspective of the loss of a boy to views of those who could easily be a member of society or the reader, the moral theme comes across more predominantly than the first stanza.

Auden chooses to use paintings that are quite oblivious to the events that are taking place, as he includes line such as: ‘while someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along’- giving the impression that he is quite a pessimist himself- not wanting to look at the millions of people given hope as a result of the birth, and the morals learnt from Icarus’ fall.

This relative ‘keep calm, carry on’ style Auden portrays could be a reflection on reality also. On a personal level, he witnessed the Spanish Civil War, and was alive through WW1; so has had to deal with circumstances that were unforeseeable, and then forgotten- potentially a reason for choosing these paintings, rather than ones that praised the birth or portrayed a message. This reflection on the reality of society is also partially shown- as in all fairness, there would not have been a large fuss made before Jesus was born- as then, Mary was just another pregnant lady, and Joseph was a poor carpenter- so no one would have stopped and been in awe before His birth.

Overall, Auden’s perspective is an interesting one- although it is not entirely his own, it still stimulates thoughts and reflections in the readers’ mind, but consequently, can make them more critical and judgemental of others’ actions as a result of Auden’s view; so the poem is not as morally flawless as one might expect from a poet potentially aiming for this outcome.