The Last Lesson: The story, retold

Foundation first: the devices in the story

Know these and you can answer most "language" questions.

How to answer a "what was different" question. First say what is normal (the bustle), then what was different (silence), then add two or more details (seated pupils, no scolding, best clothes, villagers). The examiner's report says many candidates described the walk to school, not the classroom. Stay inside the classroom.

1. A late start and a temptation

Franz is very late for school that morning and dreads being scolded, especially as M. Hamel has said he will question the class on participles — and Franz does not know the first thing about them. For a moment he thinks of running away and spending the day outdoors. It is a warm, bright day; birds are chirping at the edge of the woods; in the open field behind the sawmill, Prussian soldiers are drilling. All this tempts him far more than the rule for participles. But he resists and hurries off to school.

2. The town hall

As he passes the town hall, Franz sees a crowd in front of the bulletin board. For the last two years, all the bad news has come from that board — the lost battles, the draft (orders for men to join the army), the orders of the commanding officer. He wonders, without stopping, what has happened now.

Wachter the blacksmith, who is there reading the bulletin with his apprentice, calls after him not to hurry so — he will reach school in plenty of time. Franz thinks he is making fun of him and runs on, arriving at school out of breath.

3. A strange silence

Usually, when school begins, there is a great bustle that can be heard out in the street — desks opening and closing, lessons repeated loudly in unison, and the teacher's great ruler rapping on the table. Franz had counted on this noise to slip into his seat unnoticed.

But today everything is quiet, as still as a Sunday morning. Through the window he sees his classmates already in their places and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. Franz must open the door and walk in before everyone. He blushes and trembles. (2027 specimen Q5(iii): everyone was quiet; the students were all seated; the usual bustle was missing.)

To his surprise, M. Hamel does not scold him. He says, very kindly, that Franz should go to his place quickly; they were beginning without him.

4. The teacher's best clothes and the village elders

Once seated, Franz notices that M. Hamel is wearing his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt and his little black silk cap, all embroidered — clothes he wears only on inspection and prize days. The whole school seems strange and solemn.

Most surprising of all, the back benches, usually empty, are filled with village people, sitting as quietly as the children: old Hauser in his three-cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several others. Everyone looks sad. Old Hauser has brought an old primer (first reading book), thumbed at the edges, and holds it open on his knees with his great spectacles lying across the pages. (2027 specimen Q5(ii).)

5. "My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you"

M. Hamel mounts his chair and, in the same grave and gentle tone, says:

"My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. This is your last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive."

"What a thunder-clap these words were to me!" Franz says. Now he understands what was on the bulletin board at the town hall. (2027 specimen Q5 extract.)

6. Franz's regret

His last French lesson — and he hardly knows how to write! He will never learn any more. He is sorry for the time he has wasted: lessons missed while he was seeking birds' eggs or sliding on the Saar (the river). His books — the grammar and the history of the saints — which only a moment ago seemed such a nuisance, now seem like old friends he cannot bear to give up. And the thought that M. Hamel is going away makes him forget the ruler and how cranky the teacher had been. (2027 specimen Q5(iv): his biggest regret is not having learnt French when he had the chance.)

He now understands why the old men of the village are sitting at the back: they too are sorry they had not gone to school more. It is their way of thanking M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service, and of showing respect for the country that is theirs no more.

7. The participles — and the blame

Franz hears his name called: it is his turn to recite the rule for participles. He would give anything to say it right through, loud and clear, without a mistake — but he gets mixed up at the first words and stands there, holding on to his desk, his heart beating, not daring to look up.

M. Hamel does not scold him. He says that Franz must feel bad enough already. Every day they have all told themselves: Bah! I have plenty of time; I'll learn it tomorrow — and now see where it has led. The people "out there" will have the right to say: you pretend to be French, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language! But Franz is not the worst; everyone has something to blame himself for:

• the parents, who were not anxious to have their children learn, and preferred to put them to work on a farm or at the mills to earn a little more money;
• M. Hamel himself, who had sometimes sent the children to water his flowers instead of learning their lessons, and had given them a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.

8. "The key to their prison"

Then M. Hamel speaks about the French language. He calls it the most beautiful language in the world — the clearest and most logical. The people of Alsace must guard it among themselves and never forget it:

"… because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison."

Then he opens a grammar and reads the lesson. Franz is amazed at how well he understands it. Everything M. Hamel says seems so easy. Franz thinks he had never listened so carefully, and M. Hamel had never explained everything with so much patience — as if, before going away, the poor man wanted to give them all he knew and put it all into their heads at one stroke.

9. "France, Alsace, France, Alsace"

Next comes writing. M. Hamel has prepared new copies for them, written in a beautiful round hand: "France, Alsace, France, Alsace." Hung from the rods at the top of the desks, they look like little flags floating everywhere in the room.

Everyone works hard, and the room is so quiet that one hears only the scratching of pens on paper. Some beetles fly in, but nobody pays any attention — not even the littlest ones, who are working hard at their fish-hooks (the curved strokes children practise in early writing). On the roof the pigeons coo very softly, and Franz thinks: Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?

10. Forty years in one place

Whenever Franz looks up, he sees M. Hamel sitting motionless in his chair, gazing first at one thing, then another, as if he wanted to fix in his mind just how everything looked in that little schoolroom. For forty years he has been there in the same place, with his garden outside the window and his class in front of him. Only the desks and benches have been worn smooth; the walnut trees in the garden are taller, and the hop-vine that he planted himself twines about the windows to the roof. It must break his heart to leave it all — and Franz can hear his sister moving about in the room upstairs, packing their trunks. They must leave the country the next day.

11. Ba, be, bi, bo, bu

Still M. Hamel has the courage to hear every lesson to the very last. After the writing comes a lesson in history, and then the babies chant their ba, be, bi, bo, bu. Down at the back of the room, old Hauser puts on his spectacles and, holding his primer in both hands, spells the letters with them. His voice trembles with emotion. It is so funny to hear him that everyone wants to laugh and cry. Franz will remember that last lesson always.

12. "Vive La France!"

All at once the church clock strikes twelve, then the Angelus rings. At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sound under the windows.

M. Hamel stands up, very pale, in his chair. He has never looked so tall to Franz. "My friends," he says, "I — I —" But something chokes him; he cannot go on. He turns to the blackboard, takes a piece of chalk and, bearing on it with all his might, writes as large as he can:

Then he stops, leans his head against the wall and, without a word, makes a gesture with his hand: School is dismissed — you may go.

Reading between the lines

• Franz's temptation. The warm day and the drilling soldiers pull at him. He resists, so he is not a bad boy. This makes his later regret feel true.
• The bulletin board. Two years of bad news have taught the village to dread it. The reader shares the dread before Franz does.
• Wachter's remark. Franz hears a joke. We hear pity: the blacksmith has read the notice, so there is no longer any hurry. This is dramatic irony.
• The silence. The school is as still as a Sunday because the pupils feel that something serious is happening.
• No scolding. M. Hamel's kindness is the first clue that today is not ordinary.
• Best clothes and the old men. M. Hamel dresses as for inspection or prize day, a ceremony. The old villagers sit as pupils, because they too wish they had learnt more and want to honour him.
• "Thunder-clap". Thunder is sudden, loud and frightening, and it comes without warning. It tells us how complete Franz's shock is.
• Books as friends. We value something most when we are about to lose it.
• Shared blame. M. Hamel does not hide behind the pupils. He blames the parents, himself and the habit of "tomorrow". His honesty makes the lesson stronger.
• Key to the prison. A prisoner who holds the key can one day get out. A people who keep their language keep their identity and the hope of freedom.
• Little flags. The copies are a quiet protest. In a room under foreign rule, "France, Alsace" hangs everywhere.
• The pigeons. Franz's thought is childish, yet it points to the absurdity of the order. Nobody can order a bird to sing in another tongue.
• The sounds at noon. The church bell and the Angelus belong to the village. The Prussian trumpets belong to the conquerors. Both are heard at once, which shows an old life ending and a new one beginning.
• The chalk, not words. M. Hamel cannot finish his sentence, so he writes. His feelings are too big for speech, and the silence is more powerful than a speech.

Worked examples

Example 1 (sequencing MCQ, 1 mark, ICSE 2027 specimen, Q1(xiii)). Arrange: 1. He entered the class embarrassed and frightened, expecting a scolding. 2. On reaching school he found it unexpectedly quiet. 3. M. Hamel smiled and told him to go to his place. 4. Franz ran past the town hall and the crowd at the bulletin board.

Solution. (d) 4, 2, 1, 3. Why this scores: work outwards from the place: the town hall comes on the way (4), then the school (2), then the entry (1), then the teacher's reply (3).

Example 2 (3 marks each, ICSE 2025, Q5(i) and (ii)). (i) What does 'that' in 'that was what they had put up at the town-hall' refer to? What other bad news had the villagers received from the board? (ii) How does the narrator describe the bustle at the start of a typical school day?

Model answers. (i) 'That' refers to the order that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The other bad news was the lost battles, the draft and the orders of the commanding officer. (ii) Usually there was a great noise that could be heard from the street: desks opening and shutting, lessons repeated aloud in unison and the teacher's great ruler rapping on the table.

Why this scores: in (i) the first sentence answers the first part and the second sentence answers the second part, with no mixing. In (ii) the answer stays inside the classroom. The examiner's report says many candidates repeated the first part in the second or wrote about birds and soldiers on the road.

Example 3 (3 marks, ICSE 2025, Q5(iii)). What was different on that morning when he arrived late for school?

Model answer. Everything was still and quiet, like a Sunday morning, in place of the usual bustle. His classmates were already seated, and M. Hamel, who was walking up and down, did not scold him. The teacher wore his green coat, frilled shirt and embroidered black silk cap, and the village elders sat on the back benches.

Why this scores: any three differences earn the marks; the answer gives four and leads with the contrast to the usual bustle.

Example 4 (3 marks, ICSE 2025, Q5(iv)). What thoughts filled Franz's head when he heard the announcement?

Model answer. Franz was sorry that he had wasted his time, seeking birds' eggs and sliding on the Saar. His grammar and his history of the saints, which had seemed a nuisance, now seemed old friends he could not give up. He was also sad that M. Hamel was going away and that he would never learn any more.

Why this scores: three thoughts (regret for wasted time, change of feeling about books, sadness for his teacher), one mark each.

Example 5 (full extract, 16 marks). Read: All at once the church clock struck twelve, and the Angelus rang. At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sounded under the windows. M. Hamel, very pale, stood up in his chair. "My friends," he said, "I — I —". But something choked him. He turned to the blackboard and wrote as large as he could: "Vive La France!"

(i) What two sounds were heard at the same moment? [3] Answer. The church clock and the Angelus, which belonged to the village, and the trumpets of the Prussian soldiers returning from drill.

(ii) What does the meeting of these sounds suggest? [3] Answer. It suggests two worlds meeting: the old life of the village ends as the new rule begins, on the same stroke of noon.

(iii) Why could M. Hamel not finish his sentence? [3] Answer. Something choked him. His grief at leaving after forty years and his love of France were too strong for words.

(iv) What did he write and why did he write it so large? [3] Answer. He wrote "Vive La France!" (Long live France!). He wrote with all his might because it was his last message and an act of defiance.

(v) What does this scene tell you about M. Hamel? [4] Answer. It shows a deeply patriotic and dignified man. He cannot speak, so he writes. He ends the lesson with a gesture, not a complaint, which makes his loss more touching.

Why this scores: every answer names the detail in the passage and then gives its meaning.

Example 6 (3 marks, ICSE 2025 Improvement, Q5(iv)). Why does M. Hamel blame himself? Whom else does he blame?

Model answer. He admits that he often sent pupils to water his flowers instead of teaching them, and gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing. He also blames the parents, who were not anxious to have their children learn and put them to work on farms and at mills for a little more money, and the habit of saying "I'll learn it tomorrow".

Why this scores: two faults of his own (1 mark), the parents (1 mark), the habit (1 mark).

Doubts cleared

Q. Why did M. Hamel not scold Franz for being late? On the last day, a scolding would be cruel. He knows Franz is already ashamed.

Q. Why do the old men sit at the back? To thank M. Hamel for forty years of service, to show respect for a country they feel is no longer theirs and because they regret not going to school more.

Q. Why are the "France, Alsace" copies like flags? Hung at the top of the desks, they wave like flags in the room. They show the pupils' bond with France.

Q. Why does Franz wonder about the pigeons? It is a child's way of showing how unnatural the order is.

Q. What is the "key to their prison"? Language. While a people keep their language, they keep their identity and a way back to freedom.

Mistakes to avoid

• Mixing the answers to parts (i) and (ii) in a two-part question.
• Describing the road to school when the question asks about the classroom.
• Writing that Franz wrote "Vive La France!" on the board. M. Hamel wrote it.
• Writing "The new master arrives today". He comes tomorrow.

Check yourself

1. What did M. Hamel wear on the last day, and why?
2. Name two things Franz regretted.
3. What did M. Hamel write on the board?

Answers: 1. His green coat, frilled shirt and embroidered black silk cap, worn on inspection and prize days, to mark a special day. 2. Any two: seeking birds' eggs, sliding on the Saar, wasting lessons, not learning French. 3. "Vive La France!"