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he could not fly

nor fend him against death."

"I caught him in a net

as men catch fish.

"No room, no rathole

in his loopless robe.

"I struck him twice.

"And once and twice he groaned,

he doubled up his limb.

"And with that stroke,

committed him to Zeus

that keeps the dead."

Very well, you may leave.

Good-bye, sir.

Cheerio, sir.

Good-bye, sir.

Good-bye,

Mr. Crocker-Harris.

Thank you

very much, sir.

Good-bye, sir. Good luck.

Fa-la-la-la-la-la

In the winsome month of May...

Oy! Walk!

We've got to get him.

I don't know.

We'll get in trouble.

Come on, Taplow. Trubshaw's

always picking on you.

We could do it tomorrow.

Come on. It'll be a laugh.

It's the last day of term.

What can they do?

Thank you, sir.

I realize, of course,

you will not be putting

so much emphasis

on the study of Greek

and Latin.

Perhaps they may be

even dropped

from the curriculum,

or made optional extras.

My remit from the headmaster

is to organize

a new language department, sir.

That really means

modern languages.

I believe we need

a greater concentration

on German, French, Spanish.

It is, after all,

a multicultural society.

Ah, yes, yes...

the modern approach.

Not so many years ago,

the great passion

was to learn Russian.

Then came perestroika.

Russian wasn't trendy anymore.

Yes, well, thank you

for allowing me to observe.

Not at all.

Perhaps we shall see

each other later.

Hello. Anybody home?

Just me, sir.

Taplow.

You are following me around.

No. Sir. I've got extra work

with Mr. Crocker-Harris.

Uh-huh.

But he's not here yet.

And Mrs. Crocker-Harris?

Uh... no, she's

not here either.

What are you studying?

Aeschylus, sir. The Agamemnon.

Have you ever read it?

Well, no. I can't say

that I have. Is it any good?

Oh, um... well, as a matter

of fact, it is, really.

Yeah, well,

what's it about?

Lt... it's about a wife

who's unfaithful, and murders

her husband.

I get it. A comedy.

Say... say, listen,

did you get a chance

to talk to Mr. Crocker-Harris

about your transfer

to my science class?

Yes.

And?

What did he say?

What he always says

for everything.

Now, come on. What is it?

You have obtained exactly

what you deserve...

no less, and certainly no more.

Andrew? Andrew,

is that you?

Oh. What

a pleasant surprise.

Hi ya, Laura.

Didn't expect

to see you here.

Hello, Taplow.

Oh, Andrew asked me

to come by.

It's about my timetable

for next term.

Oh, and he's not here.

Well, it's not like Andrew

to be late, now, is it, Taplow?

No, Mrs. Crocker-Harris.

Well, excuse me, gentlemen.

I think I'll just go

put these things upstairs.

Do you think she heard?

Heard what?

Me impersonating...

Frank.

Oh, I, uh... I've got your

timetable here, Andrew.

Oh, excellent.

Just what I wanted.

Sorry I'm late, Taplow.

I'll just put these down.

Frank, we see you too rarely.

Hello, Laura.

Andrew, you were

late for Taplow.

I have apologized.

I do hope you're going

to be joining us

at the concert tomorrow evening.

Oh, yes. I'm looking

forward to it.

Taplow, why don't you go

and get the lemonade?

You know where

everything is.

Thank you,

Mrs. Crocker-Harris.

How have you been?

Frank, would you like

to see the timetable

for next term?

Yes, I'd like that

very much, Andrew.

Take that outside, Taplow.

We'll have our glass

in the garden

today.

Let's see.

There you are.

You've really done

a beautiful job, Andrew.

Well, thank you.

It has the merit

of clarity, I think.

I don't know what

we're going to do without you.

You'll find somebody

else, I expect.

Or, uh... perhaps

they'll buy a computer.

Say, what exactly

is this new job

of yours, Andrew?

Teaching English to foreigners.

Andrew's doctor believes

it will be less of a strain

than the lower fifth.

Well, I-I'm really sorry,

Andrew.

There's nothing

to be sorry about.

I'm looking forward

to the change.

See you later.

So long, Andrew.

Begin, Taplow.

"Oh, Clytemnestra,

we are surprised that..."

"We marvel at."

"We marvel at thy tongue...

Mm.

"...how bold thou art,

that thou can...

"Canst" is more poetic.

Canst.

"...canst utter such

a boastful speech..."

Mm.

"...over the, the bloody corpse

of the husband,

you've just so foully murdered."

Taplow, I presume you're using

a different text

to mine.

No, sir.

That's strange,

I see no

"foully murdered,"

no "bloody corpse."

Simply..."husband."

Yes, sir.

Why do you insist on inventing

words that are simply not there?

Go on, Taplow.

Go on, I wish to understand.

I was thinking

a bit like this, sir.

There she is, Clytemnestra,

she really hates

her husband Agamemnon.

He returns

from winning the war,

and what does she do?

She welcomes him back

and then murders him.

She stabs him over and over

and then makes a speech...

I'm, I'm delighted

in your interest

in the more lurid aspects

of dramaturgy, Taplow.

But I still fail

to understand

why you should wish

to improve Aeschylus.

Today in class, sir...

for the first time

I got a sense of the horror.

L- lt was so vivid.

I mean, why can't we put more

life into the translation, sir,

like you did?

Why can't we use words like,

like, "bloody" and "corpse"

and "murder?"

Hmm.

When I was a very young man,

not much older than you are now,

I wrote for

my own pleasure

a translation of the Agamemnon,

a very free translation,

I remember, in rhyming couplets.

That must have been hard work.

Yes, it was,

it was.

Very hard work.

But I derived great pleasure

from it,

because the play had excited

and moved me as it did you,

and I wanted

to communicate,

however imperfectly,

some of that emotion.

A little like what happened

in class today.

My translation,

I remember thinking

was very beautiful...

almost more beautiful

than the original.

Was it ever published?

I'm sorry?

Was it ever published?

Oh, no, no.

No, it was never published.

Shall I go on, sir?

Uh, no, I fear

we've run out of time.

Um...

may I go now, sir?

Yes.

And, Taplow...

"The art of learning

is to conceal learning."

And I wouldn't try it

on any of your friends.

It isn't particularly funny.

I wouldn't know, sir.

Turn that, turn that

ghastly noise down!

Off!

Now, Buller...

Where's Buller?

Your mother's

just telephoned.

She's awfully sorry,

but neither she nor your father

are going to be able

to get down here today.

She wants you to take

the train tomorrow.

Shrewsbury.

Then the chauffeur

will meet you at the station.

You all right, Buller?

Sir.

Good.

Keep the noise down.

I know it's hard,

Buller.

But you'll get used

to it, believe me.

F*** off.

Good morning.

Morning.

Sleep well?

Yes, fine, thanks.

And you?

Yes, fine, thank you.

There you are.

Oh, there's a...

a letter for you.

Is everything all right?

Your mother all right?

Yes. Fine, fine.

Um... I forgot to cancel

the papers.

Do you need anything

from the village?

No, no, thank you.

Laura.

Were you expecting

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