macbeth 2

The tutor sits across the room from the student. The tutor has the essay in his hands. The tutor says it’s a good essay. A very good essay. It’s original. He should think about getting it published. This doesn’t mean anything to the student. The tutor asks where the kernel of his argument came from. The student masks his smile. He says it just came to him as he was reading the play. He doesn’t say that it should be obvious, and he doesn’t even offer a clue as to how he learnt that the doctor’s scene will tell you all you need to know. Something he learnt in a small house where roses grow all year round. The essay will be passed around like samizdat, eventually lost by a hatmaker in Greenwich.