Robert Frost, a famous American poet, wrote about making the right choices in life and how they affect people, in his poem titled ‘The Road Not Taken’. The poem reveals that sometimes being different and choosing the more challenging path in life can end up leaving one much more successful. The easier way is not always the best way.
“Carpe Diem- Seize the Day” is a very important message and theme in the film. It involves savoring life and not letting any opportunities pass us by.
Probably the most obvious and prominent theme in the film is seizing the day. This means appreciating life, not wasting time, and doing what we want because life is short. In the film, Mr. Keating teaches the boys this lesson. He encourages them by saying, “Make your lives extraordinary”. He also tells the boys “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Mr. Keating wants the boys to do something with their lives and let their voices be heard. “Words and ideas can change the world.” Throughout the entire film, Mr. Keating induces the boys and motivates them to follow their dreams and live a fulfilled life. An example of making the most of one’s life in the film is when Neil takes his chance to become an actor and ends up being very successful. He says, “For the first time in my whole life, I know what I wanna do, and for the first time I’m gonna do it whether my father wants me to or not!” However, Neil only seizes this one moment. When his father demands that he go to medical school, Neil simply abandons his life-long dream. Instead he kills himself because he thinks it will solve his complication. If Neil would have persisted and continued to follow his dream, everything may have worked out for him. Mr. Keating ventured to teach the boys that seizing the day could take time, hard work, and dedication. Everything will not just fall into place; there will be many obstacles. This message is associated with the poem by Robert Herrick, titled ‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’. The poem illustrates the fact that life is short and people should take every chance they are given. In fact, Mr. Keating even uses this poem to explain this message to the boys during their first lesson. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying; and this same flower that smiles today tomorrow will be dying.” The rosebuds express the opportunities in life and the flower represents life itself. This message is also perceivably displayed in the quotation, “Carpe Diem- Seize the Day!” Carpe diem is the Latin phrase for seizing the day. Mr. Keating’s message to the boys is to make their lives extraordinary and not waste time, hold back, or be shy. This message is displayed again in the quotation, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation” from Henry Thoreau. Mr. Keating does not want the boys to live in “quiet desperation” or go without being noticed, he wants their voices to be heard.
Decisions are the basis of life and so it is only reasonable for them to be a theme of Dead Poets Society. Each choice on makes changes one’s life, no matter how large or small the decision is, which is why it is important to consider the consequences of our selections. All through the film, decisions are made. One major decision in the film is Neil’s choice to commit suicide as a way of solving his problems instead of persevering. In fact, Neil’s suicide had many consequences, which created only more worriment and dilemmas. As a result of Neil’s death, Charlie was expelled, Mr. Keating was fired, and everyone that knew Neil was greatly upset. Many others were greatly affected by Neil’s suicide as well. Another example of a prominent choice made is when Todd stands on his desk at the end of the film, and says, “O captain, my captain” in order to demonstrate his respect and gratitude toward Mr. Keating. He takes a risk because he could be expelled or suspended for disobeying Mr. Nolan who was ordering him to sit down. Many decisions we make should involve risk. Sometimes choosing to make a different decision to others can lead to better outcomes. In Robert Frost’s poem ‘A Road Not Taken’, he compares life and decisions to paths in some woods. The woods stand for the complications in life. In the end, the speaker concludes, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Dead Poets Society is about relationships, one of which is friendship. In the film, there are many example of friendship. The boys have friendships with each other. Through the movie, Todd and Neil’s grow closer and their friendship is quite special and strong in the end. Neil encourages Todd to join the Dead Poets Society and even suggests that Todd does not have to read poems because he knows that Todd is self-conscious. Some of the boys, including Neil, Todd, Knox, Pitts, Cameron, Meaks, and Charlie, have a friendship with Mr. Keating. Since most of the boys have strict fathers, they rely on Mr. Keating for advice. For example, Neil consults Mr. Keating on is problem to do with his father not allowing him to act. Mr. Keating proposes that Neil talk to his father and tell him how he feels about the matter. Another example of friendship in the film is how most of the boys support each other. For instance, many of the boys go to watch Neil’s play and cheer him on. Nevertheless, after Neil’s suicide, Cameron betrays his friends and Mr. Keating. He reports to Mr. Nolan that Mr. Keating is to blame for Neil’s death. The other boys recognize that it is not Mr. Keating’s fault. Charlie even punches Cameron because he is so mad, which leads to his expulsion. This shows Charlie’s loyalty to Mr. Keating and Neil and it shows that he stands up for what he believes in. In this case, he stood up for Mr. Keating. The friendship in Dead Poets Society relates to the quotation, “Carpe Diem- Seize the Day” because it is easier to seize the day, and let one’s voice be heard with the support of friends. Friendship in the film can also be associated with the poem, ‘A Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost because Charlie chose to stand up for what he believes in and Cameron made the choice to betray his friends. All of their choices affected their life.
A different form of relationship in the film is love and passion. In Dead Poets Society, Knox falls in love with Chris. Even though she already has a boyfriend, Knox persists to try and win Chris’ heart. He writes poems about her and to her to prove his love for her. This is linked to the poem, ‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’ written by Robert Herrick. One of Herrick’s messages in his poem is that we should marry. He wrote, “And, while ye may, go marry”. This portrays the fact that everyone should find another person to share his or her life with.
Poetry is about love, passion, and humanity; it makes us feel alive. Mr. Keating proclaims that, “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. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” He wants the boys to understand the true meaning of poetry and literature. Mr. Keating teaches the boys that poetry cannot be judged using a graph, as Mr. Pritchard wrote in his essay, ‘Understanding Poetry’. Mr. Keating tells his class, “You will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language.” In the poem by Robert Herrick, ‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’ the meaning of poetry is presented. The poem discusses the passion in live when one is young, “That age is best which is the first, when youth and blood are warmer.” People are very much alive and passionate with many ideas. The poem also states that “while ye may, go marry”, which illustrates the love in life.
One characteristic, which is continuously shown in the film, is courage. Throughout Dead Poets Society, there are many examples of both positive and negative courage. An example of positive audacity is when Knox decides to prove his love for Chris by reading her a poem he wrote in front of her class. It takes a great deal of bravery and determination to do this. Another example of gallantry is when Neil has the lead role in his play. He had the courage to stand up on stage in front of hundreds of people and he was able to follow his dream even though his father forbid him to. In contrast, an example of negative courage is when Charlie pretends that a phone is ringing during an assembly and pretends that it is a message from God stating that girls should be allowed at Welton Academy. Charlie is seizing the day in the wrong way. Even though he is confident and happy while playing this joke, he risks the secrecy of the Dead Poets Society and makes the other boys worried. The poem by Robert Frost, titled ‘A Road Not Taken’ is connected to these events in the film because the poem implies that decisions change one’s life. In the film, Neil chooses well by deciding to follow his dream, Todd makes a good decision by standing up for what he believes in. On the other hand, Charlie should have considered his choice and the results of his choice before taking the action.
There are many significant messages and themes throughout the film, which are connected to life, friendship, loyalty, courage, betrayal, seizing the day, the true meaning of poetry, love, passion, and making decisions. These messages are also represented in numerous poems and quotations. Both the poems and the film give us messages to think about and help us live a fulfilled life.