Dead Poets Society

“But only in their dreams can men be truly free. Twas always thus, and always thus will be.” – John Keating

Anyone who hasn’t seen Dead Poets Society or has seen it so long ago that they can barely remember it, needs to drop whatever it is they are doing — be it attending college, working hard, or earning money — and rent the movie and watch it. And I mean NOW, I mean ASAP.

I am, quite unsurprisingly, completely in love with certain words. Not so much because of what they mean, but because of the way they sound...the way they roll off one’s tongue, the almost erotic process by which they marry the tongue and the teeth, and create a sonorous concert for the listener. Given the context, one of my favorite phrases is carpe diem. I love the way it sounds, and in this case even for what it means. Carpe diem is Latin for “seize the day”. Carpe diem stared at me from my phone’s screen for the longest time, it was my password for an even longer time, and it was the preferred name for my blog...alas the last wasn’t meant to be. But carpe diem remains a philosophy close to my heart.

Dead Poets Society, in more ways than one, pays homage to the sentiment behind carpe diem. At its crux, Society is the story of Todd Anderson, a shy teenage youth who has been sent to a famous and conservative school where his popular older brother was a student and whose past achievements still linger around and threaten to overwhelm Todd. Todd’s roommate is Neil Perry, a bright and popular boy who battles his own demons due to his overbearing father. Todd and Neil and the lives of five of their friends are transformed for ever when they meet their new English teacher, John Keating, played by Robin Williams. Not only does Keating tell his students to address him as “O Captain, my captain!”, which is the title of a Walt Whitman poem, but he also teaches them how to think for themselves, how to love poetry, ideas and words, and also how to ‘seize the day’. The movie focuses on the boys’ personal journeys, their awakening, and the ultimate result of Keating’s preference for non-traditional modes of teaching.

My favorite lines from the movie would be Keating’s in his first lecture: “We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for...”

For me, Dead Poets Society was wonderful because it reiterates the point of view that it’s your life, your only one life, think for yourself — do the things that matter, keep the people who mean something. I am publishing one of the many poems that were mentioned in the movie because this is a personal favorite.

O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Hear Captain! dear father!
The arm beneath your head!
It is some dream your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shore, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.