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History Boys: Act 1 – scenes 12-15

  • Irwin reveals that Posner came to see him to confess his crush on Dakin. Scripps, acting as narrator, makes it clear that Posner has chosen Irwin for this confidence because he knows that Irwin is also in awe of Dakin – which is cause for concern as a teacher should not have this kind of fascination toward a pupil.
  • Scripps and Dakin have a conversation about religion. Their cleverness is undermined by Dakin’s mispronunciation of ‘Nietszche’ (a German philosopher).
  • Irwin is exasperated by Hector’s insistence that the boys shouldn’t use their extensive quotations to show off.
  • The Head checks on the boys’ progress with Irwin. Mrs Lintott tells Irwin that Dakin is seeing the Headmaster’s secretary.