The History Boys: Quotations

"I am your teacher. Whatever I do in this room is a token of my trust. I am in your hands. It is a pact. Bread eaten in secret."

Hector, Act One

monosyllabic declaratives with tones of certainty including the metaphors and abstract nouns suggesting the intimacy of his lessons

biblical allusion to proverbs which imply the sexual nature of Hector's relationship with the boys

"'I have put before your life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live'."

Hector, Act One

oxymoronic syndetic pairs of abstract nouns within single quotation marks suggesting that Hector is directly addressing Scripps as he is the most religious of the boys and the boy Hector is caught fondling.

biblical allusion to Deuteronomy - Hector demonstrates his belief that memorising quotations gives students a way of understanding the world

"Mr. Hector's stuff's not meant for the exam, sir. It's to make us more rounded human beings."

Timms, Act One

parallelism demonstrating the conflict between teaching styles that Alan Bennett explores. Hector doesn't believe in results-based education; he teaches for the sake of teaching. Meanwhile, the Headmaster brings in Irwin specifically to give the boys the "polish" they need to face their Oxbridge entrance exams.

I was confusing learning with the smell of cold stone.

hyperbolic metaphor using natural imagery of "stone" to indicate Hector's disparaging attitude toward the prestigious higher education system which enforces bleak learning for the best exam results rather than knowledge that enriches a person

Hate them because these boys and girls against whom you are to compete have been groomed like thoroughbreds for this one particular race.

imperative including a zoomorphic simile implying the intense nature of the preparation for these highly competitive and demonstrates Irwin's view when it comes to the purpose of education which directly contrasts that of Hector

Dakin's navel, I remember, was small and hard like an unripe blackberry. Posner's navel was softer and more like that of the eponymous orange.

natural imagery in the form of a simile to indicate the difference between the characters of Posner and Dakin and perhaps allude to the way Posner envies and looks up to Dakin due to his confidence

The fixation on this body part also implies a sexual undertone which may allude to Posner's feelings towards Dakin

You give them an education. I give them the wherewithal to resist it.

parallelism which demonstrates Hector's view of the purpose of education as he addresses Mrs Lintott who focuses her teaching ono facts and evidence

There's no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.

juxtaposition demonstrating Irwin's teaching methods and his view on the importance of using the truth in an academic conversation

No, with a poem or any work of art we can never say 'in other words.' If it is a work of art there are no other words.

a plethora of negations with a defensive tone demonstrating the effect of Hector's teaching methods on the boys and how they value literature as it is their sole source of education

Truth is no more at issue in an examination than thirst at a wine-tasting or fashion at a strip-tease.

comparative between emotional abstract noun and somewhat mature oxymoronic allusions which demonstrates Irwin's value of truth in an academic conversation

TIMMS: I don't see how we can understand it. Most of the stuff poetry's about hasn't happened to us yet.

HECTOR: But it will, Timms. It will. And then you will have the antidote ready! Grief. Happiness. Even when you're dying. We're making your deathbeds here, boys.

dialogue between timms and hector which demonstrate the prominent theme of history and the randomness of events and also the purpose of education

definite and certain tone, pair of oxymoronic abstract nouns, medical and biological allusions

History nowadays is not a matter of conviction. It's a performance. It's entertainment. And if it isn't, make it so.

semantic field of leisure which contrasts the abstract noun implying a law judgement demonstrating Irwin's unconventional perception of history which strays far away from the perception of like that of Mrs Lintott who relies solely of facts

One of the hardest things for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.

anaphoric repetition of the superlative and parallelism which reflects the nature of a teacher in relation to their students and the conventional relationship between students and teachers which both Hector and Irwin stray far away from

I'm a Jew. I'm small. I'm homosexual. And I live in Sheffield. I'm f****d.

anaphoric repetition with a final expletive which demonstrates Posner's lack of social capital in the 1980s education system for many reasons which may have led him to be an outsider

It's consolation. All literature is consolation.

epiphoric repetition of the abstract noun which clearly highlights the effect of Irwin and his shiny, new and exciting teaching methods and educational views on Dakin

I count examinations, even for Oxford and Cambridge, as the enemy of education. Which is not to say that I don't regard education as the enemy of education, too.

disparaging epithet demonstrating Hector's attitude toward examinations and the 1980s ducation system as a whole

Education isn't something for when they're old and grey and sitting by the fire. It's for now. The exam is next month.

adverbials of time which demonstrate Irwin's teaching methods and his aim to prepare the boys solely for their oxbridge exams rather than for life

And what happens after the exam? Life goes on. Gobbets!

hypophora demonstrating Hector's aim to prepare the boys for life rather than an examination

Strange how even the most tragic turns of events generally resolve themselves into questions about the timetable.

headmaster demonstrating his fixation on the reputation of his institution rather than the boys - also alludes to the theme of history and the knock of effect of events in the past

The transmission of knowledge is in itself an erotic act.

declarative demonstrating Hector's view of education and his intimate relationship with the boys which he has formed through his system of educating them through literature

F*** the Renaissance. And f*** literature and Plato and Michaelangelo and Oscar Wilde and all the other shrunken violets you people line up.

anaphoric expletives and derogatory language demonstrating the headmaster's opinion of hectors teaching methods using literature and the arts as they are not part of the curriculum which would have been employed by the Education Reform Act and do not produce quantifiable data

This is a school and it isn't normal.

monosyllabic declarative demonstrating the effect of the Education Reform Act 1988 and the Thatcherist reforms to the educational institutions in England to make them more business-like and based on results from exams

it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.

personification presenting Hector's interpretation of the value of education and literature as he finds a kind of comfort in literature and arts because he has had to hide the true him from the world regarding his sexuality

the monastic life only comes alive when contemplating its toilet arrangements.

Irwin shedding light on the theme of hope and failure and the impact of once importance things declining through the years - the audience may draw parallels later to Posner and his failure at Cambridge

What made me piss my life away in this god-forsaken school? There's nothing of me left. Go away. Class dismissed. Go.

expletive rhetoric question followed by hyperbolic metaphor and truncated imperatives which subverts the typical loquacious nature of Hector's character which implies his sadness at the loss of his position and his comfort in front of the boys to be so vulnerable

They are unpredictable and unquantifiable and in the current educational climate that is no use.

syndetic pair of anaphoric negative adjectives which demonstrates the Headmasters priorities when it comes to a good teacher - producing data that will boost the reputation of the school

What's all this learning by heart for, except as some sort of insurance against the boys' ultimate failure?

rhetoric question demonstrating dorothy's attitude toward the purpose of education and her opinion of Hector's methods

I didn't teach you and Wittgenstein didn't screw it out of his very guts in order for you to turn it into a dinky formula.

negative declarative demonstrating the difference of Hector and irwin's views when it comes to the ethical conversation of using the holocaust as an example in an academic response - the holocaust would have still been a very raw topic at the time

What has truth got to do with it? I thought that we'd already decided that for the purposes of this examination truth is, if not an irrelevant, then so relative as just to amount to another point of view.

rhetoric question demonstrating the impact of the new teaching method brought to the school by irwin and how some of the boys had been completely converted to this philosophy of education and that the truth does not actually matter in academia and is virtually irrelevant

History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.

hypophora and metaphor describing history where dorothy provides the audience with a female perspective which they have been deprived of throughout the play as she is the only female character with any lines

How do I define history? It's just one f****** thing after another.

blunt and expletive hypophora presenting the audience with a different view of history and the randomness of events presented by rudge who is more inclined to have this view as he is very much the underdog of the group and advocates for honestly and authenticity

I didn't want to turn out boys who in later life had a deep love of literature, or who would talk in middle age of the lure of language and their love of words.

soft liquid alliteration used by hector in order to present his aims with his teaching philosophy

Brief Encounter, Gracie Fields, it's an antidote. Sheer calculated silliness.

allusion to gracie fields as hector explains the importance of learning literature and the use for it later in life through the somewhat juxtaposing description of the aid of literature

Why are you so bold in argument and talking but when it actually comes to the point, when it's something that's actually happening, I mean now, you're so f****** careful?

rhetoric question presented by dakin to irwin which presents his confident and bold nature and that in this relationship despite the power dynamic that should mean irwin had sole power as a teacher, dakin holds all the power

dakin questions irwin's hypocritical view of history and the unfolding of events and his complacence when it comes to the present

Pass it on boys. That's the game I wanted you to learn. Pass it on.

epanadiplosis of imperatives demonstrating hector's overall view of education and his last message to the boys

this is after hector dies and the last line of the play - bennett wants to leave the audience with this message - hector continuously presented as the hero of the play

I am thinking league tables. Open scholarships. Reports to Governors

truncated sentences including business jargon to present the headmaster as a vacuous fool

I want to see us up there with Manchester Grammar School, Haberdasher's Aske's. Leighton Park. Or is that an open prison? No matter

allusions to prestigious school followed by hypophora which demonstrates Headmaster as an ineffectual bumbler as he only cares how he sounds rather than the accuracy of his speech

I went to Hull

monosyllabic declarative which creates clear bathos as the Headmaster is presented as hypocritical as he is so set on the boys going to oxbridge yet did not go to a prestigious school himself - cares so much about league tables now which shows the impact of the new education system

think charm. think polish. think renaissance man

• This is a tricolon of imperatives that has the rhetorical register of advertising - it suggests that he believes that with enough effort the boys can be transformed into more 'charming' people, in other words, they can move up the class system and defeat prejudice

• Although League Tables were actually a later innovation under John Major (anachronistic inclusion) Bennett was not overly concerned with historical accuracy

• The Headmaster symbolises a belief in competition and free-market salesmanship of schools through the ranking of results

• The use of the clichéd noun phrase 'renaissance man' suggests that the Headmaster sees Irwin as a cultured person due to where he has attended university, and therefore capable of transforming the boys into something similar

• However, the fact that this is a lie shows Irwin's struggle with where he went to university in a professional circle that values elitism

The loss of liberty is the price we pay for freedom type of thing

Immediate presentation of Irwin as cynical and manipulative and as a character who is prepared to say anything , to turn the truth upon its head, in order to serve the interests of those in power

The audience who have been alarmed at the glib nature of his "reasoning" and even more with the cynical tone in which he addresses the MPs - immediately portrays him as an antagonist - dramatic syntax with the following scene with hector being portrayed as a hero

impact of the opening scene of hector entrance into classroom

air of ritual

familiar, preordained role for each boy

french terms testify academic sophistication and complicity with which hector joins in

a handsome boy

immediate description of dakin - foreshadows how we shall see him exploit his youthful and burgeoning sexual allure in various ways throughout the play

Hector is a man of studied eccentricity

studied suggests he is quite aware of himself as playing a part for deliberate effect - theme of identity and belonging

proudly jingling your A Levels, those longed-for emblems of your conformity... your Cheat's Visa

Hector's first florid words confirm this impression of studied eccentricity -congratulates boys with lots of irony - dismisses ultimate significance

this contains further irony with regard to conformism as hector would have needed academic qualifications in order to secure his teaching position - history repeating itself?

interesting nature of hector

bennett chooses not to show hector in his regular teaching role with all its attendant orientation towards examination success but as a teacher of General Studies in the boys' seventh term preparing for Oxbridge

example of conflict in the history boys

pure education vs narrow and pragmatic education

the ethical use of historical events in an examination

the importance of literature and culture education

"All knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use."

Hector quoting A.E Houseman which can be seen to underpin the outlook of one side of the debate which takes place within the play - and outside the play in the real world

he sits with his head on the desk, a parody of despair

hector pretending to be in despair at the very idea of the boys' aspirations of going to Oxbridge

impact of use of tense when referencing Hector's playful hits on the boys' persons

whilst other boys talk in the present tense, both timms and scripps talk in the past tense, as if they are commenting on events which have already occurred. This dual time-setting is a feature which injects a nostalgic, reflective feel to the often frenetic action

impact of Scripps playing La Vie En Rose piano accompaniment during the french scene

he provides piano accompaniment to the farcical theatricalities taking place by playing the melody of a song associated with French singer Edith Piaf, recorded in 1946

one of the many examples of unlikely knowledge for the boys to have - popular culture from an earlier age - Bennetts time

impact of Headmaster and Irwin's arrival to the french scene

adds to the air of farce as the fall guy

impact of the revealing of information of hectors motorbike rides

the full picture does not become clear until later in the play - withheld information for dramatic measures?

significance of reaction to hectors offer to ride with him at the start of the play

dakin is first to offered and first to refuse

posner complains about the continued rejection of his offers

sripps begrudgingly acquiesces from a sense of christian duty "the things i do for jesus christ"

timms and posner "dont fit the bill"

appeal of french scene

essentially visual appeal - able to work out rough idea with only a basic grasp of french - relies on actors to exaggerate their roles - conventions of farce

humour from subtext - what the characters are actually thinking - conversation is loaded with hidden meaning