Dead Poets Society

English professor John Keating inspires his students to a love of poetry and to seize the day.

• Director:Peter Weir
• Genre:Drama
• Runtime:124 minutes

Cast

Robin Williams : John Keating
Robert Sean Leonard : Neil Perry
Ethan Hawke : Todd Anderson
Josh Charles : Knox Overstreet
Gale Hansen : Charlie Dalton

Seven boys, Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles), Charlie Dalton (Gale Hansen), Richard Cameron (Dylan Kussman), Steven Meeks (Allelon Ruggiero) and Gerard Pitts (James Waterston) attend the prestigious Welton Academy prep school, which is based on four principles: Tradition, Honour, Discipline and Excellence.

On the first day of class, the students are introduced to their overwhelming and extraordinary curriculum by sullen headmaster Gale Nolan (Norman Lloyd). Their new English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) tells the students that they may call him “O Captain! My Captain!” (the title of a Walt Whitman poem) if they feel daring. His first lesson is unorthodox by Welton standards, whistling the 1812 Overture and taking them out of the classroom to focus on the idea of carpe diem (Latin for ‘seize the day’) by looking at the pictures of former Welton students. In a later class, Keating has Neil read the introduction to their poetry textbook, an essay entitled “Understanding Poetry”, that describes how to rate the quality of poetry. Keating finds the idea of such mathematical criticism ridiculous and instructs his pupils to rip out the essay. He later has the students stand on his desk as a reminder to look at the world in a different way.

The boys set out on a journey of awakening, discovering that authority can and must act as a guide, but the only place where one can discover one’s true identity is within oneself. The boys secretly revive an old literary club which Keating had belonged to, called the Dead Poets Society. Out of a severe episode of self-consciousness, Todd fails to complete a creative writing assignment and is taken through an exercise of uncharacteristic self-expression, realizing the creative potential he possesses. Charlie publishes a profane and unauthorized article in the school flyer, stating that he wants girls allowed at Welton. He later fakes a phone call from God saying that girls should be allowed at Welton. Nolan paddles and interrogates Charlie about the others involved, but Charlie says he acted alone. Read more

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