Transcendentalism was a time period of free thinking, standing up for what’s right, and an importance of a deeper relationship with nature. These are examples of tenets which are the main ideas of this time period, which took place in the 1800’s. Two tenets of Transcendentalism that are present in Dead Poet’s Society are free thinking and the importance of nature. Free thinking was one of the main focal points during this time period. This meaning thinking for yourself how you want and not sticking to the “status quo.” The movie demonstrated this in many scenes, one being where Mr. Keeting has them rip out the introduction to poetry section in their textbooks. In this section it tells you how to interpret poetry, so instead
of having in class do that he says you must interpret it yourself, therefore promoting free thinking. This is just one of the many examples in this movie. Another important idea of Transcendentalism was the importance of nature. Having a deep appreciation and a good relationship with nature was an important thing. In the movie their society/club meets in a cave to read aloud poems. They do this to be apart of nature while reading, so maybe they can have a deeper meaning for messages they might come across in the poetry. Again, this is just one of the many examples found in the movie. This time period had other tenets as well such as; free will, individuality, seizing the day, and a different style of education. None are more important than the other and they all have prominent roles in history. And two tenets, free thinking and the importance of nature, are prominent in Dead Poet’s Society. Overall, Transcendentalism was a vital era for our society to grow and have a greater outlook on life.