MacBeth they said (ST)

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

Rachel showed dressed very conservative but still stylish, with Salif in tow as she headed at 4pm to see if they'd show or if it had been part of the ruse.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

The group of boys were there, huddled around a table in the library, open books in front of them.

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

She walked in with Salif, looked at the guys, then moved to pull out her own copy, and looking at them "Do you even know what MacBeth is about?" curiously asked to the gathered group.

Looking at them, she tried to see if any of them were the guys that had attacked her, trying to see if they were wearing Axe body spray the same one, any one's eyes look familiar, but she waited for their reply with a forced friendly and as if nothing was wrong smile.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

Well, they were all wearing Axe body spray. But it was a different scent than she remembered... and none of them looked familiar as her attackers. The group of them did look a little bit sheepish.

"Not... really. The antiquated language means that I tune it out."

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

She smiled at them "You picked Shakespeare's shortest and bloodiest play." with a smile relaxing a bit more, then a look at them "Do you even know the summary of the play?" looking at them wanting to walk them through with their words more than hers.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

The entire group looked sheepish. They didn't have a clue.

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

She shook her head "Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death." with a look at them all.

"Lady MacBeth kills the king to further her husband, then starts to go mad as the blood won't come off her hands." looking at them all.

"it is thought to be based on the tragic account of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles around 1587, a history of England, Scotland and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth." seeing if they were following her.

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They seemed confused.

"But wasn't Shakespeare dead by then?"

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"Oh really guys." with a soft laugh "Shakespeare died in 1616 or so it is thought to have died." with a look at them "Are you looking to pass the class or understand the play?"

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They looked at her, innocent if a little sheepish.

"Can't we do both?"

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"Actually no, if you want to write a paper about the play we can talk how you can do that. BUT if you want to understand the play we'd have to work on that a bit more. Some people find if it is read out loud it's easier to follow the language. Others prefer the cliff notes that gives you the "basics" but doesn't help you get the "Meat" fo the story." with a look to the one that was talking to her.

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The boy nodded.

"Well, if we're going to be reading out loud, we should probably go somewhere else so we don't disturb half of the library...."

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"That's why I reserved this private room." with a grin at him. "And no funny accents." with a soft chuckle "Most British can do an amazing American accent but few American's can do a British accent from what I can tell." a grin at him.

"So do you wish to start and I'll back up when needed?" with a glance to the crew of "guys" "Who wants the power hungry MacBeth role?"

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One boy, a blonde guy who was most definitely a jock, smiled.

"I'll take MacBeth."

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"any one else for the other roles?" she asked curiously.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

The one who had done most of the explanation raised his hand.

"I'll take Banquo."

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"Sounds good then I will point to one of you when it's your turn to read." with a confident smile at them a glance to Salif and then they started to read the play.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

And read, they did. The truth of it was that none of them started to make fun of the play. Unlike high-school-age boys, these ones, while terrible at understanding Shakespeare, at least seemed interested in their education. Which meant that they may have had no idea what they were reading, but they were reading it properly and without joking around.

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

Rachel would end a section asking them what they thought it meant and then explaining to them the typical translation into modern English to try and get them to see there was a pattern with the words.

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They were smart kids. But they did have a little trouble here and there. The archaic language got them confused at points, but they seemed to be following along with her.

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

Rachel took time explained modern similarities and helped them with the play into the evening. "Okay think you've got it for your papers?"

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They seemed to nod -- all of them paying attention to damn near every word.

"Yeah, thanks."

The more outspoken one -- he was almost the 'leader' of the group, if only because he was the one who talked to her the most -- turned a little pink as he answered.

"Yes -- thank you so much for your help."

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"Your welcome." with an actual smile at him. "I think you'll all do well if you just pause and think before you reply." she closed her copy and then moved towards Salif that had been quiet the whole time.

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

Salif had been silent most of the time. Primarily, he had wanted to get a read of the boys -- and apparently was satisfied with what he saw, since he didn't signal her that they should leave early or anything of the sort.

The boy that had been the most outgoing one -- well, he got a few elbows from his friends and turned to look at Rachel.

"Hey, uh... do you think... I mean... would you like to go out for coffee sometime?"

And yes, by the time he had finished, his face was rather bright red.

Methuselah Posts : 5333 Join date : 2012-02-02

"How about after you get your grade and we can talk about it." with a winning smile back at the out spoken one as she leaned against the wall by Salif.