Dead Poets Societyis a movie that I will always hold dear to my heart. Not only do I wish John Keating, or Robin Williams, was my English teacher, but that I could have been a part of the charming, poetry-reading group of boys that called themselves the Dead Poets Society. Keating brings conventional thinking into question and creates scenarios for the boys to grow into men. The whimsical feeling produced by the film has always stuck with me, along with some of the lessons taught by Keating. He taught far more than English--He taught how to be a compassionate, intellectually free and vulnerable humans in a world that says otherwise.
"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."
The first time I ever heard the phrase "Seize the day" was in this movie. The trust and encouragement he exudes in the phrase sparks a hope within the boys and, in turn, sparks one in anyone watching.
"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."
Keating speaks with a wisdom that resonates in the bones of the boys. Poetry always seems to leave something extra after it is read--and this extra something fills the human soul with passion. Poetry takes a person's thoughts and transforms them into something beautiful that can be laced through time and continued on in the minds of others. It strikes a different chord with everyone that reads it.
"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."
Every action begins from a thought, a word or an idea. Every thought and idea you have is a valid one and has the force to completely change the world.
"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."
I never realized how true this statement was until I heard it in this movie. We are constantly seeking beauty in the form of words, places or people. The beauty that we find in these things are what keep us going. We seek comfort in this beauty.
"So avoid using the word 'very' because it's lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don't use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys--to woo women--and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do."
The power language plays in our lives in something I first saw highlighted in this film. I now weave this idea into my everyday language because language is meant to be exciting. Why not create poetry with our everyday language?
There are many other lessons I could pull from Dead Poets Society, but I will leave those other lessons up to you to see in the movie. Thanks to Dead Poets Society I am able to channel my immense love for life and beauty into words and ideas.
Seize the day, everyone. Make your lives extraordinary.
