Chapter 425: Tree Hill High School

Monday, February 13th, Morning

The students shuffled into the classroom slowly, as to avoid what they faced. He sat behind his desk, his tablet opened, and linked by Bluetooth to the flat screen above the whiteboard. One by one, he checked off his students as they arrived. Nodding and reflecting that, yes, Bill the Bard was right back in the time of Gloriana.

The bell rang, and the last of the students entered the classroom. As the last of the students entered the classroom, Lucas Scott stood up, walked to the door, and closed it. Lucas stood in front of the classroom and picked up the tablet.

Lucas pressed a button on the tablet, and the flat screen came to life. On the screen, Sir Kenneth Branagh dressed in Victorian Garb, held a book, stood on a grassy hill, and looked around before speaking.

Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices,
That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd,
I cried to dream again.

Once Sir Kenneth finished, Lucas paused the video. He looked around the classroom. Finally, one of the students raised a hand.

"Yes, Peter," Lucas said.

"What was that all about?" Peter asked.

"Does anyone know where this comes from?" Lucas asked and saw a student raise their hand, "Yes, Angel?"

"Isn't that Kenneth Branagh?" Angel asked.

"Yes, that's Sir Kenneth," Lucas said, and another student raised her hand, "Yes, Nikki?"

"That's the speech from Caliban," Nikki said.

Lucas smiled, "Yes, it is, Nikki," he said, "This is from the Summer Olympics Opening ceremony in London. Sir Kenneth is playing the great English Civil Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. They're using Caliban's speech in the context of England and the birth of the industrial age."

"Oh," Nikki said.

"That's an example of using something in another context than originally intended," Lucas said, "Yes, Gemma?"

"Why did you show us this clip, Mister Scott?" Gemma asked.

"An icebreaker, and an introduction to the character, we're discussing," Lucas said.

"Who are we discussing?" a student asked.

"We will be discussing Caliban, Nat," Lucas said.

"Caliban? The half-man half-monster of the play," a student asked.

"Yes, Perkin," Lucas said.

"Who is Caliban?" a student asked.

"Caliban, Riley, is the original inhabitant of the island, and son of the witch Sycorax, who first is befriended by Prospero but is later enslaved by him," Lucas said and looked over the class.

The classroom was silent; Lucas nodded and moved his fingers across the tablet. The paused video disappeared, and pictures started; a slid show filled the screen.

"What you are seeing is various physical versions of Caliban over the years as you can see that this runs the gamut from something that would fit a fantasy movie to an indigenous person.

"Traditionally, Caliban has been played by a person of color. During the time of writing this play, the Age of Exploration and Colonization had started. So, Shakespeare used information coming back from the New World in his research for writing this play. What many people think was his last play. Some of this can be interrupted as Shakespeare's opinion on colonization," Lucas said.

He looked around the room and finally rested his eyes on one student who raised their hand.

"Yes, Rory?" Lucas asked.

"I find it hard to believe that a white man would criticize colonization at that time," Rory said.

Lucas nodded, "I can see your point, Rory, but we must remember if we judge people from the past by our current morals, they always fall short," he said.

"I still can't believe it," Rory said.

"Well, that is for y'all to decide," Lucas said.

"Why is that for us to decide?" Rory asked.

"Because whatever conclusion you can defend with research is valid," Lucas said.

"So, where does that lead us?" Rory asked.

"To our assignment," Lucas said, to a groan from his students.

"Do we have to?" a student asked.

"In college, you will have essays every week," Lucas said.

"So, what is the assignment?" Nikki asked.

Lucas took a deep breath and slid his finger over the tablet. The TV Screen changed to a wall of text.

"So, your assignment, due on Friday, is a fifteen-hundred-word essay, footnoted, Riley, on this question," Lucas said.

Lucas watched as the student started to write down the assignment. Watching them, he waited for the last student to put down their note taken device. Lucas changed the image on the screen.

Consider the character of Caliban and what the character represents.

Lucas put the tablet down and watched the students write down the question as they finished writing down the question and putting down their pens.

"Any questions?" Lucas asked once the last pen was put down, "Yes, Riley."

"Mister Scott, we could argue for any meaning or interruption?" Riley asked.

"Yes, Riley, you can," Lucas said.

"So, we can interrupt Caliban as an explanation of how society treats people of color?" Rory asked.

"yes, you may, Rory," Lucas said.

"How about Caliban as a person in an abusive relationship?" Angel asked.

"If you can defend it, you can," Lucas said.

Lucas nodded and looked them all over. He nodded and took up his tablet again. He changed the image on the screen again.

You taught me language, and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you,
For learning me your language!

-Caliban The Tempest Act Scene 2

"This is quite possibly the second most famous quote of Caliban from the play. Now you could look at it as a discussion about the colonization of the New World, but also there was something just as dark on Shakespeare's front door," Lucas said.

"What would that be, Mister Scott," Perkins asked.

"Why is religion brought into it?" Rory asked.

"In this time period, it was a critical factor at this time. Shakespeare died two years before the start of the Thirty Years War," Lucas said.

"Mister Scott, what is the Thirty Year War?" Nikki asked.

Lucas sighed, "The last religious war fought between Europeans. It lasted from 1618 to 1648 and is the most destructive war in European History," he said.

"Worse the World War Two?" Perkin asked.

"Total deaths, just deaths were estimated to be around eight million," Lucas said, and silencing the class as the passing bell rang.