Dead Poet's Society

The movie, Dead Poets Society, has proven one of the teachings of G.W.F. Hegel that I've learned from my Philosophy class last semester--Poetry is the end of art because it is capable of communicating what is in our spirit and soul.

The line of Mr. John Keating, "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," emphasizes the point that poetry isn't just a literary form but it is something that is noble. It is a powerful media which we, human beings, can use to
express and free all the passion that we have in a timeless way. Without poetry, what will happen to our passion? It will spring from our hearts and will surely die immediately. Also, poem never grows old. It's always fresh and it always has a new thought to impart on its reader. It's the same thing when we write. For me, when we write a poem we are undergoing a therapy that unveils our soul and sets it free. This is the reason why I love writing poem especially when I'm lonely and so much happy. When I can't contain the feelings I have inside. With these, poetry really fuels our inspiration to live that's why its importance in one's life is really undeniable.

As a matter of fact, it has changed the lives of the character in the film.
Neil Perry has become passionate and energetic through poetry. He even appeared to be the leader of their generation's version of Dead Poets Society. He has also discovered through it the very thing that he wanted to do--to act. He even said, "Yes and acting! it's got to be one of the most wonderful things in the world...For the first time, I feel completely alive." Another big transformation that can be seen is that of Todd Anderson. Poetry has made him stand and walk out of his comfort zone. He has overcome his self-doubting attitude and his fear of reading in front of people. In the final scene, he showed his courage by being the first one to stand on his desk as a sign of his salute to Mr. John Keating who made a great impact on his life. On the other hand, Knox Overstreet was able to break the 'calmness' within him. Poetry set him on fire! Through it, he was able to make his deed feeling of affection to Chris. What happened to knox is almost the same with that of Charles Dalton. Poetry enabled Charles to show to a girl named Gloria the love that doesn't just touch the heart but also the soul. His poems made Gloria say, "This (poetry) is better than sex any day. This (poetry) is romance!" Lastly, I believe that poetry made Mr. John Keating (being the original member of the Dead Poets Society) go back to his Alma Mater and share to his students the passion that he has for
poetry.

In the end, I've learned that poetry is really a magical tool that can make us seize the day! Poems are full of eternal thoughts coated with real emotions and bounded by the beauty and sharpness of words. I have realized that Poetry and literature are like stairs that can take us to our own heaven. They can make us live life to the fullest and they could fill the vacuums in our hearts so that we can feel complete just as what Neil had felt through acting.