Wifely Steps

“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.”
– Dead Poets Society

I initially watched Dead Poets Society because Ethan Hawke was in it. I was a fangirl of his and was thrilled to see what new role he would have in the film. Good thing he was part of the cast, for Dead Poets Society touched me deeper than any other film did in my teen years. The lines Carpe Diem and Oh Captain my Captain! became more than just concepts to me. I began to understand how they were meant to be brought to life. At the end of the film, I wanted to stand on the coffee table along with the school boys.

The film is about a group of high school boys who begin to understand life’s essence with the encouragement of their English teacher, John Keating. Keating’s style of teaching was considered unorthodox by the school administration, but it was this style that triggered the students to look at their lives from a new perspective. It was also Keating who introduced them to the Dead Poets Society. The Society was more than a group that got together to read poetry, it was a reminder for each member “to live deep and suck the marrow out of life…” (Thoreau). The film followed how this passion to “seize the day” was awakened differently in each of the key characters. It essentially is a film on self-discovery.

Take for example Todd Anderson’s impromptu poetry during Keating’s class. He began to mumble on how truth is “like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.” Despite his classmates’ mocking, he carried on with encouragement from Keating.

“Y-You push it, stretch it, it’ll never be enough. You kick at it, beat it, it will never cover any of us. From the moment we enter crying to the moment we leave dying, it will cover just your head as you wail and cry and scream!”
– Dead Poets Society, IMDB.com

Who would have thought such insight could have come from bumbling Todd Anderson? With guidance that was right for him, i.e. a little more aggressive than usual, he was able to let go of his inhibitions and deliver a poem that stemmed from his own fears. Perhaps a truth he did not want to face was suddenly revealed and maybe, even in the littlest way, helped relieve him.

While I do not agree with how some of the boys brought to life the line “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” the film did show us a spectrum of Carpe Diem — Liberation that started with a poem. Pursuing a certain romance. Marching (literally) to the beat of your own drummer. Challenging educational standards. Pursuing a dream that goes against expectations. This was more the exception than the rule though, as the film also showed how conformity could be a benefit. It’s all about perspective, really, and balance.

Sucking all the marrow out of life doesn’t mean choking on the bone.
– John Keating

It is then up to the viewer to decide whether they could stand on top of their desk and see the world from another angle. It is up to them whether they could pursue a life of poetry, to pursue a life beyond the necessary.

I was an impressionable teenager when I saw the film. Dead Poets Society gave me a much-needed jolt and the courage to discover myself more. To seize the day after all, I needed a firm grasp of self so as not to lose myself in the colorful but dizzying opportunities that could come my way.

The little Ethan Hawke fangirl in me faded away slowly, but Dead Poets Society remains to be my favorite film to this day. Carpe Diem is still a lesson I continue to learn and understand. I don’t think you ever stop learning it. I don’t think you should ever stop living it.