We will analyze the texts we read closely. We will pull meaning from the texts we read. We will answer questions, write papers, give debates, and discuss the texts we read. All of this is done so that we can engage with words and ideas. Through this engagement, we think. For this post, I am asking you to watch this clip from the movie, Dead Poet's Society. It is one of my favorite movies. In this scene, Mr. Keating will explain to his students why we read and write poetry and it is here that I want you to respond. Your response should pull from the video what resonates with you. What speaks to you?
Once you have explained what in this scene resonates with you, I want you to explain to all of us why you read and write poetry? You are looking at about two paragraphs.
To assume poetry is the reason to live, the thing to live for, is a powerful statement. Regardless of the pursuits of the individual, the goals and dreams that that we think will sustain us, poetry still remains the life blood of the human race. According to Robin Williams character, all other things are used solely to keep us alive in order to sustain our necessity to consume poetry. This is particularly powerful because it resonates, because he's right. However, in my opinion poetry can be many things. Poetry in the context of life is the beauty we find in the intricate crafting of art forms. Poetry is music. Poetry is landscaping. Poetry is taking an activity and turning it into meaningful art.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry because it is one of the few ways I find emotional catharsis. Because I live a life without any meaning, my only pursuit is finding beauty; beauty in writing, in nature, in food. Poetry becomes an outlet for that beauty. Poetry acts as a transmitter of the beauty that lies within the consciousness of every individual. To experience the beauty of another humans subconscious and conscious thought alike, I need an external projection of their consciousness and poetry works as well as anything. With out poetry I am devoid of a method to experience beauty and my life becomes exponentially less interesting. As Dead Poet's Society would argue, my life becomes a series meaningless activities to sustain me without any real substance if poetry is removed.
It resonates with me and always has resonated with me that the things important in life are love and fulfillment and joy. When Mr. Keating states that “the human race is full of passion” he expresses that this is what is important and should be the priority in writing. Keating says “The casualties could be your hearts and souls,” as a result of the measurement by scholars of a poetic piece. The kids must think for themselves what is valuable not by structure and meter and verse but by content and emotion. Writing demonstrates this aforementioned passion by communicating love, joy, fulfillment, or numerous other robust emotions and thus achieves its value. I think all life should be this way. Things are not always wrapped up so nicely with straight edges and bows. How the gifts you are given make you feel determines their worth.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I read poetry is because the capability of a person to communicate these passions at all is wondrous but across time and space is awesome. How simply beautiful that one can express a deeper meaning with a more abstract form than a direct one. Personal interpretation in poetry is easier than novels as well, and that makes it really enjoyable and relevant. I mostly write poetry because I am instructed to do so, but if I developed enough to translate the same heavy themes I would want to write to share with other people in ways I might struggle verbally or pointedly.
In this particular clip from the movie Dead Poet’s Society, Mr. Keating speaks of the importance of passion in poetry. What resonates the most with me is the idea that no matter what “noble pursuit” one chooses to work towards to sustain life, what keeps us alive is the romance, beauty, and love poetry brings about. Robin Williams may only be lecturing to a small class full of students, but his values speak to everyone. We must learn to appreciate what not only poetry, but literature has to offer. “We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.” Ignoring the straightforward rhyme, meter, or verse, is key in delving further into the meaning behind every piece of a poem.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Mr. Keating’s advice, we must convey the passion of the human race through poetry. I read and write poetry to grow emotionally and intellectually because language articulates an experience. Poems are a vehicle for expressing explanations for life’s meaning. Writing poetry as a form of art, allows people to explain themselves and their role in the world. Poetry is open to interpretation and stimulates critical thinking through analysis. I also write poetry as a tangible source of pride and that can be recognized. Writing poetry is a free and available resource that can be used for self-exploration, life explanation, and passion throughout our lifetime.
The character of Robin Williams emphasizes the importance of poetry in this clip from Dead Poets Society for humanity. Towards the end of the movie clip, when the boys are in a huddle with Mr. Keating, Mr. Keating states, “We read and write because we are members of the human race and the human race is filled with passion..poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” This statement spoke the loudest to me because although majors such as business and engineering are necessary for life as Mr. Keating points out, the fine arts such as poetry make life pleasing and more enjoyable.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I read and write poetry to explore a wide range of emotions. When writing poetry, I am able to write when I am happy, write when I am upset, write when I am confused; the possibilities are truly endless. I also enjoy writing poetry because it is a quick escape from the rest of the world. Unlike writing a novel or in a journal, poetry is a lot more fun and an easy scapegoat because it is not as time consuming.
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ReplyDeleteMr. Keating points out that, while engineering and business are noble pursuits, it is for poetry, beauty, and love that we stay alive. Poetry is not something that can be taught, it is up to each individual to decide what that piece of literature means to them. There is no guide to understanding or rating poetry because it is a uniquely individual experience. That is part of what makes poetry so special. Every person interprets the works in a different way. This is only possible in things like poetry, most likely not engineering or business. Poetry offers people an outlet for their passion and this passion is what makes poetry so special.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry because poetry is very different from any other form of literature or art. Poetry requires that one is clever with words and meanings and it can contain a beauty in itself that other mediums cannot. I read poetry because, through it, emotions are explained and felt more powerfully. Emotions fascinate me, so poetry gives me the opportunity to explore the emotions of the author in an unparalleled way. Poetry is a truly human art form and is something that every person has the capacity to appreciate.
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ReplyDeleteWhenever I’m studying mathematics or history, astronomy or the physical sciences, I often find my mind wandering and pondering why these academic achievements came to be, and what moved the people, the individuals who contributed these feats to society. The conclusion to which I have definitively arrived is that, in spite of one’s desire for absolutes, and the scientists’ love of hard evidence, nothing about being alive and about being human truly comes down to algorithms and facts. Everything about one’s existence, even a methodical understanding of it, is rooted in humanity’s unpredictable and wholly unique identity as a passionate, feeling, and despairing soul. My first experience with this segment from “Dead Poets Society” was within a very visually stimulating and emotionally electrifying Apple iPad commercial, seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2IaaFz4Fz4. Subsequent to this, my passion was stirring, and I researched the movie and the quote. Most interesting to me was the resonance with which my whole being was shaken by Williams’ monologue. All my life, ever since I was a little girl, I had always done things with purpose and with the end goal of helping people, no more, no less. But as a musician, I was torn; so when Williams as John Keating proclaimed that “poetry, beauty, romance, love; these are what we stay alive for!”, my conflicted heart, torn between the absolutes of life and the more obscure ideals that arouse one’s passions, was set straight. Now set on a path to pursue both in college, I know that this is not wrong and that pursuing different goals is not wrong or a waste of life; it is simply the way in which I choose to explore the things that make me feel alive and allow me to contribute my verse.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry because it validates my feelings and existence in a world in which those things may seem minute and obsolete. As a little girl, I was always fascinated with the names of the streets in my development, unfamiliar names which held no meaning to me. As it turned out, they were all highly-regarded authors and poets, and my exploration of them in my grandfather’s oaken bookshelf as well as the Huntington elementary school library allowed me to seek refuge in my own curiosity. My own mind, even as a child, was my greatest weapons against the powers that targeted me – bullies, personal struggles, feelings of inadequacy, societal expectations, the expectations I set for myself. Into middle school, my language arts teacher was a tremendous influence on me, leaving the indelible mark that spontaneity and feeling what was right was always more important than pursuing something for the wrong reasons. The poetry project she assigned as our eighth-grade capstone project encapsulated everything she taught me, and still rings true today: As one grows older, if you lose your childlike sense of wonder not only with the world, but with yourself, the enchantment of life wears off. So please, as I begged myself then and as I beg myself now, do not ever let yourself forget what you stay alive for.
Although there are many lines throughout the movie that invoke passion and sentiment, I believe that this scene in particular best captures the overall themes the movie displays. The line, “This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls”, resonated with me the most. In full context, Mr. Keating was telling his students the importance for thinking for yourself; not to rely on someone else, an “army of academics”, to do it for you. I believe this line in particular stands out to me, due to the fact that understanding poetry and appreciating its beauty is worth your heart and soul. Our hearts and our souls make us human; just how Mr. Keating explains that poetry stands for everything that makes us human.
ReplyDeleteFeeling validated is something most people need to feel. Having someone else validate your fears, dreams or hopes can bring about reassurance or restore confidence. I read poetry (I am not yet brave enough to write it), because it makes me feel validated. Weather it's Tennyson, Whitman, or my personal favorite, Poe, reading poetry makes me feel validated. It eases my fears and strengthen my confidence in a way nothing else can.
Perhaps it is the candid smiles of the boys in Keating’s class, or their assurance in their futures. Perhaps it is the age-old aphorism that reads “principles are for the well-fed”, the suitcoats, white skin and collars acting in accordance with such. Perhaps it is the administration that barges in demanding order and an affinity towards tradition. Perhaps none of these things, although all of them constitute a difference perspective when understanding Keating’s statement “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world”, a perspective aware of where exactly Keating is saying this from, and what allows him to do so.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry because there’s no charge at the door, no age restriction, no preference for disposition or intellectual boundary. I read poetry because there are kids in Baltimore, in Kansas City, in New York and Berkeley cranking out pieces that the world has never seen anything like before. I read poetry because there is no true telling of history but those who with their own eyes have seen it unfold, and they package it in poems. I write poetry because there is a screen swirling all around me and I have no other means by which to dissect it but with words. I write poetry because I have been to the mirror with Camus and Beckett and we all decided that meaning was for ourselves to grant, and in human creativity did I enlay mine. Bridge building and pastries, rocket ships and paintings, taxi cabs and poems: all of these things act as artifacts to the human consciousness. I know not how to lay brick or mine ore, know not how to pave streets or make soap. I do know how to write, and write I do.
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ReplyDeleteWhen told to rip the pages out of their textbooks, Mr. Keating’s students hesitated at first. After encouragement and persuasion, their timidness turned to excitement as they tore away the predetermined ideas of what poetry is supposed to be. With sly smiles, they rip away at the stereotypical concepts of what poetry means, as Mr. Keating explains, “In my class you will learn to think for yourselves again.” He continues on, “You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” These ideas of thinking for yourself, and changing the world with writing inspires the class, as it inspired me. This scene resonates with me because it reflects my beliefs of poetry. You can read into poetry in any way, which is why it is so impactful on the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry to captivate the author’s words and apply them to my own emotions. I believe that poetry is open to interpretation and can mean anything the reader wishes to apply the text to. As Mr. Keating explains to his class, “Medicine, law, business, engineering: these are noble pursuits, necessary to sustain life. Poetry, beauty, romance, love: these are what we stay alive for.” Poetry makes life worth living because it is one of the few things that can mean anything you want it to, which is why I read. Poetry’s eloquence is incredibly appealing, as the beautiful meanings are reflected into the meanings of my own life. As Mr. Keating would agree, there is an extraordinary beauty in a work that can be applied to an entire society’s life.
“In my class you will learn to think for yourselves again,” declares Mr. Keating. Thinking freely is an ability that seems to have been lost in an education system that treats mathematics as a process rather than a language, regards science as absolute rather than a culture of doubt and new discoveries, and puts disproportionate emphasis on standardized testing. Freedom of thought is crucial to make strides in any setting, whether the topic be literature, mathematics, engineering, or the arts. Mr. Keating’s encouragement of free thought contrasts a great deal with what I am used to seeing in classroom settings -- students rarely question their teachers or try new methods of solving problems, preferring to follow the teacher’s lead in every situation. It’s something I can’t quite grasp, and I wish free thought was emphasized more because people need to learn to think for themselves.
ReplyDeleteRichard Feynman once said, “poets do not write to be understood,” and I’ll take Feynman’s word over Keatings any day (heck, I’d probably take Feynman’s word over anyone’s, any day). I don’t read or write poetry unless it’s required of me. People like Keating would very likely argue that love is the universal language and argue that the absence of poetry in my life equates to an absence of beauty and “passion.” This isn’t true at all. Mathematics is the universal language, and there is undeniably a beauty to it. Everything in the universe -- or multiverse, if that’s what it turns out to be -- can be represented and understood with numbers. From quantum-scale elementary particle interactions to the many types of topology, mathematics leads us to understand much more than any emotion can. A poet can look at the stars and see that they are beautiful. I can see the same thing. The question is, do I see more or less? I can see the nuclear fusion that powers the stars. I can see the principles of black body radiation and color addition which allow stars to be red, orange, yellow, blue or white, but never green or purple. And I can appreciate that the light that I see is thousands, perhaps millions of years old, and that those stars might be long gone. Unquestionably I see more than the poet. So why do I read and write poetry? It’s simple -- there’s no answer, because I don’t. I find beauty and meaning in other things, and I prefer to understand and be understood, unlike poets and their poetry. Consider mathematics poetry if you must. It’s certainly more beautiful in all its infinite manifestations.
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ReplyDeleteUpon watching this clip what resonates with me is the shock of these prep school students being told to rip pages out of their textbook. Living in a strict learning environment with rigid rules, going against the grain is not something they are used to. As they rip the pages there seems to be an electric sort of energy in Mr. Keating’s classroom, each page torn out signifying one less rule these boys have to follow, allowing them some sort of freedom from their restricting environment. As Mr. Keating encourages the boys to keep ripping, he yells “Be gone, J. Evans Pritchard, PhD… I want to hear nothing but ripping of Mr. Pritchard.” These students do not need to follow the guidelines of a PhD, they are just as qualified to write poetry as someone who has studied it much longer. They have just as much ability to read poetry where they are at as students and do not have to follow the formula written out by this J. Evans Pritchard, instead they have the freedom to interpret it themselves.
ReplyDeleteI write poetry as a way to express emotions and ideas in a non-essay format and to free pent-up emotions. Poetry is a creative outlet that helps me to see what I can design and construct with words. I both read and write poetry to learn and to feel a sense of the beauty Mr. Keating alludes to. Reading poetry challenges me to make sense of what the poet is conveying and to interpret new ideas through that reading. Poetry is unique in the freedom it allows its readers and writers: freedom to create and freedom to interpret what is written without any restrictions.
“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.” This is the quote that resonates the most with me. It’s a lesson I learned a long time ago, not just about poetry, but about art in general. Mr. Wardeska has always said he never wants someone to come up to him and say that something he created was cute. We, as band members, have learned that doing something with passion creates a lot more satisfaction than doing it for no reason. Nothing you do with passion will be cute; it will be inspiring, exhilarating, and utterly exhausting, but not cute. I see it as a trade, you give up a part of yourself, and it is a lot of hard work, but the lessons and the burning sensation you get from the fire in your soul makes it worth the hardships. It sounds cliché, but it is so true. If I could remember one thing from high school, it would be to never do anything I am not passionate about, and instead set myself up to experience passion in everything I do.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry to feel something. I know that songs usually start with a poem, and those are the ones that speak to me the most. Almost everything in my life comes back to music. I do not really know why I can always relate any of my life experiences to music. It is not like I am going to major in music in college or pursue a career in it by any means, but I also see it as much more than something to pass the time with. A performance in band mirrors no other. Giving something your all is a feeling that cannot be described, it just happens, it takes over your entire being and all you can do is feel it. I would not trade that feeling for anything in the world. The same happens for poetry, only there is someone out there who can describe those feelings and put them into words for me to read. The hard part is finding what to write.
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ReplyDeleteWhat spoke to me in the video clip of Dead Poet's Society was the idea that there are no guidelines when it comes to reading and writing poetry. Mr. Keating instructing his students to rip out the pages of the book on poetry is how he began to support that idea. He tells his students that there is no structure, there are no measurements, and there is no correct way to write. He tells his students that they must think for themselves and that is why there is poetry, to live through written words. When Mr.Keating said, “this is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls”, he was providing this imagery to his students so that they will understand that there is a fight between those who try to measure poetry by providing guidelines and limits and those who don’t. Mr. Keating expressed just how important it is that everyone who reads poetry should save the language.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I read and write poetry to understand the language and ideas of those who have passed. Poetry is a form of expression that is timeless along with writing itself. I read poetry to live through the lives of others. Poetry is a written art form that can be interpreted in many different ways, and it is because of this it is why I read poetry, to tie the words into my own personal understanding. It is poetry’s freedom that allows it to be so universal and greatly excepted.
“Keep ripping gentlemen!” Mr. Keating roars, “This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.” This statement resonates with me because the words and situation are so unlike anything that we expect to hear, especially in a classroom setting. We are taught to create, not destroy, and to respect all works. This clip teaches us that it is okay to disagree, not only with literature but with the way we are taught things are supposed to be. We are shown that we do not have to believe what is written just because the author has a PhD. We can infer that the work of someone of a lesser title can hold greater weight, and I believe that. With poetry and literature, it does not matter what credentials the writer has, what matters is the content in the writing. Sometimes, it can be a battle to create something with meaning, or something that is worth reading. Any work of art that is noteworthy requires heart. As an actor, I leave my entire heart out on stage when I perform in order to feel like I have created something worth viewing, so that I can be satisfied with my performance. Many directors have said something along the lines of, “at the end of the show, you should feel exhausted.” Leaving a heart and soul on stage takes energy, and if an actor is not exhausted, they are doing it wrong. The situation is similar for any art form. When reading good poetry, a reader can see the writer’s heart and soul on the paper, and this gives the work so much more meaning because it matters. Someone’s livelihood is on the page of any good writing, and this is what makes it good.
ReplyDeleteI write poetry because I am an artist. My heart yearns for something that mundane life cannot give me, so I must create it for myself. I write to express myself with freedom. When I write it does not matter what my credentials in life are, all that matters are the words that I put on paper. I write poetry to prove that I can still think for myself. Mr. Keating expresses this importance as well, “you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language.” It is important to think, and to appreciate the thoughts of others. I read poetry in order to appreciate words that have been written, in order to understand new ways of thinking and understanding the world around me. Anyone creating an art form must learn from those before them, which is why reading is so important. We can learn from successes and we can learn from mistakes. And, as Mr. Keating states, “words and language can change the world.” The world is constantly in a state of change, and we must read and write things with heart so that the world changes for the better.
The idea of ripping the pages out of the textbook was most resonating for me. They thought for themselves against the accepted beliefs of society, and in choosing to do so, they became human. “The human race is filled with passion”. The students opened their eyes to their emotions and were willing to learn about life; its beauty, joy and love. What spoke to me was the universal state of poetry. Mr Keating addressed that “poetry is what we stay alive for” and that the textbook will “create causalities of your heart and soul”. Reading and writing poetry becomes the excitement of living, and in it, the meaning of words and ideas are not just flat on paper, but become the strength of courage for change.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry to find an explanation through its meaning. Through imagination and innovation, I develop overlapping scenarios that would suit a particular poem. I look at meter and rhyme scheme to study the flow and beauty of the work. I write poem mostly to convey emotions and experiment with my abilities. Writing, for me, is a way to express myself freely, and vividly display thoughts on my mind.
Sitting around a table thanking God, huddling around desks tied together with uniform conformity, or raising an arm at the call of a leader; all we need is a lord or a teacher or a superior. The words did not resonate with me as much as the willingness of the students to jump to submission in the presence of an unorthodox request. There is no denying that Mr. Keating had an incredibly powerful speech, but it was most interesting to see how the students responded to their superior.
ReplyDeleteThere is usually long silences between my breathes, my thoughts don’t flow the way they do on paper. This inability to articulate myself makes a need to be understood through my poetry. And when I am understood, it is liberating. Writing poetry is simply a matter of letting the hands talk; cracking bones to the rhythm of our passions. But there is a war in our work between saving others and destroying ourselves. Poems are not always being kissed from our lips but are pulled out through broken veins and we have to stop ourselves from digging any deeper, so we turn to reading work to mend our wounds. I read poetry to find a safe hand to hold. The days just get so big, they fill up with so much noise I need lonely mornings to hide in, and evoke personal visions and awake individual sounds in the silence.
The fact that Mr. Keating communicated the passion of poetry to his students through tearing out pages in a book was very resonating. He managed to strip away the dull, informational lense that most classrooms teach through and exposed the students to the true, raw nature of poetry. When Mr. Keating told them to rip out the pages, he was showing them that it’s not up to other people to tell them what poetry is. It is their job to find meaning in the passion on their own.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry because it allows me to enter into someone else’s mind. It exposes me to their thoughts, feelings, and their view of the world around them. Each person has their own unique perspective, and it’s refreshing to see the world through a new set of eyes. Through poetry, I am able to explore worlds and emotions that I never would have otherwise.
Most of Mr. Keating’s points are horrowshow: it is preposterous to measure art’s greatness with numbers and formulas, even in arts such as music and poetry where numbers are used as a backbone because a backbone is just a backbone – the intrinsic value of a piece of music or poetry is the combined impact of that backing structure and the finesse on top of it; we must learn to think for ourselves, and one fully learns how to think, how to understand an art not from a static, pre-defined lecture, but from collectively experiencing the art, from interactivity and sharing. One of Mr. Keating’s points, however, is a bit gloopy and overgeneralized. He said “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.” This implies that all humans’ ultimate desire, ultimate focus, is the romance, the visual, auditory, and literary arts, and that the sciences do not exhibit beauty. On the contrary, I believe the furthering of medicine, law, business, and engineering involves every bit as much passion, love, and beauty as the arts.
ReplyDeleteWe read and write poetry because of all literary forms, the poem provides the whitest slate, the rawest conduit. Through no other literary medium can we imprint our minds upon paper without shackling rules or cloudy fluff leaving minute feelings lost in translation. Like music, our visceral woes, and joys, and apathies – no need for an introduction, a conclusion. No need for context, length, flow, grammatical restrictions – just a convenient way to record our souls.
Katie Burke-
ReplyDeleteMr. Keating has been my dream teacher since I first saw Dead Poet’s Society. Not only does he have a way with words to teach these group of scholarly young men, but how he has an affect on the boy’s lives. This scene is one of my favorites because he shows the group of boys that learning is not all about what the textbook says. By ripping out the part about understanding poetry, it teaches the boys and the audience that to understand poetry, one needs to look within themselves and feel what the narrator is feeling. Understanding poetry is not about analyzing and finding rhetorical devices nor is it about the grade you receive after you turn it in. Understanding poetry comes from within and as long as something is learned from it, it should make all the difference.
I absolutely LOVE this movie. Not only did it help me in my understanding of poetry, reading, and writing, but it also helped me grow and learn about life. When given the task to write poetry or read a poem, I always seem to not know how to put how I feel, how I think, and how I view things into writing. What I want to write is hard for me to portray through simple words that affect the reader. Although writing is not an everyday thing to me, it does make me excited and filled with a newfound passion that I cannot seem to find anywhere else. Writing poetry and creative short stories allows me to look within myself and write about my life or put myself in another person’s shoes and write about them. I believe that writing is good for the soul and helps people learn not only in a way with words, but about themselves.
In the movie clip Robin Williams character, Mr. Keating, explains the importance of poetry in human life and even goes as far as to say that it is the reason for life. The fact that Mr. Keating says that no matter what occupation you chose to follow, the love, romance, and beauty of poetry are what sustain human life, creates a powerful effect. Mr. Keating is correct when he says this. Humans thrive off of emotions and poetry puts these emotions into words. No matter what field of work you pursue, emotions are still going to play a role in life. No matter what you will experience happiness, sadness, love, anger. Poetry allows for those emotions to be portrayed in a way that many can relate with.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry is to relate to and express the emotions that are held by poetry. By relating to the poetry it allows me to release the emotions that I keep inside. If I am upset or happy or angry, these emotions are able to be put into words and expel my feeling to share with others that can relate to what is being said. Poetry is another way to view emotions and is a helpful utensil for figuring out life’s meaning. It also provides answers to hidden emotions and allows for them to be shared in a way that is nonverbal. Thus allowing for emotions that are not so easily spoken out loud to be heard by others.
What continues to resonate with me from this clip of the move is Mr. Keating’s encouragement to his student to think for themselves. While so much of what “school” seems to be nowadays is quantifying a student’s success based on their test scores, it is important to not forget that we are not robots. We, the students, are individuals with innovative minds that seek to grow and develop in innumerable ways. While math and science help us to understand the world around us, poetry and the arts help us to immerse ourselves in the beauty and wonders of it. Mr. Keating tells his students, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” This is a very bold and powerful statement that brings me so much hope, comfort, and encouragement. It doesn’t matter how small the voice or how little the idea because it is from those tiny sparks of inspiration that fires of change explode. The pen is mightier than the sword and it is creativity and aspirations that drive human innovation forward.
ReplyDeleteWith all of this being said, I read the poetry of others because I love that feeling that I get when just the right words have been strung together in a melodious stanza of rhymes or free-verse. I love the feeling of empathy or sympathy that ensues when I understand exactly what the poet has tried to make me understand or feel. I also love trying to find meaning or understanding in the poems I don’t quite fully grasp or learning about the experiences of others through their words. Poems are puzzles I enjoy piecing together. I find it so fascinating to delve into the minds of others and hear what they want to express. As Stephen King told us in ‘On Writing,’ words have weight. The subject matter in poems or literature of any kind may be of “heavy” or “light” topics, but regardless, those words carry the burden of emotions. This is why I write poetry. I don’t always like saying out loud exactly what I am feeling or what I am thinking. So I write it down. Like I’m sure many of my other classmates do, it is often through poetry that I find catharsis and relief. Since so much of my high school career has been spent with my nose in textbooks instead of real books (I definitely prefer the latter to the former), it is through reading and writing poetry that I feel extremely limitless and free from the restrictions of formulas or rules. I write poetry so that maybe one day I can change the world.
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ReplyDeleteThe line that resinated most with me from this clip is when the boys in Mr. Keating’s class are huddled up finsihing ripping the pages out of their books. Keating says, “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.” This line in particular really stuck with me because I feel that it answers more than just the question of why we read and write poetry. I feel that his response justifies why anyone would do anything in life. I would never get involved with something that I am not passionate about. If contribute my time to something, it has my whole heart in it. What’s the point in doing something if it doesn’t completely consume you with the exhilarating feeling that there’s nothing else in the world you would rather be doing at that moment? If there is one thing I took away from this clip and this quote in particular is that the world has far too much to offer for you to just sit around and take in someone else’s ideas and passions, and never divulge in your own.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry to experience a world outside of my own. To feel emotions deeper than the ones that surface from my day to day thoughts. I read poetry to understand the emotions of others and see stories from another point of view. I read poetry because there is no limit to interpretation or imact a piece has. I write poetry merely to express myself. The words I am incapable of saying out loud, I put down on paper. I personally feel that writing poetry is very cathartic because I have never fully gotten something off my chest until I physically put it to paper. Poetry is just another way to express our innermost thoughts and feelings without ever actually having to open our mouths, and I think that’s the main reason why I’m drawn to it.
In this scene from the movie “Dead Poets Society,” a powerful quote comes from it: “We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.” The professor explains how poetry is an expression of one’s self, not unlike paintings or other forms of art. Everyone has their own experiences with the human condition, and poetry is an accumulation of words carefully brush stroked on an empty canvas to create a picture filled with “passion.” This resonates with me, as I understand how people come from different backgrounds, and how art and poetry can help explain the diversity that simple facts or explanations just could not. Furthermore, we as a society need poetry, as it is the only way to express these emotions, and any other way would be poor communication. We would not be part of the “human race” if we do not harbor at least some of the emotions that poetry conveys.
ReplyDeleteI preferably like to listen to poetry, and not read it. Music is an integral way to understand poetry and meaning. The clashing of instruments and sounds can complement the message and meaning of the lyrics. Music transcends the two dimensional words on paper into a deeper reality, with the beat and lyrics going hand and hand to elevate them further. If I ever write poetry myself, I have music in mind to keep the rhyme, and to inspire myself to continue. I listen to music to understand and relate to different emotions, and diving into lyrics and rhyme scheme can be as entertaining as listening to the track.
Too often, we carelessly throw around words and are too focused on what we are trying to say rather than how we are trying to say it. To hear Mr. Keating say “You will learn to savor words and language” offers hope for a change in the current perspective that we are approaching communication. Writing is an art form that requires true effort and time, differing immensely from the simple dialogue that a majority of us use in everyday conversation. Poetry allows for expression of raw feelings in ways that other literature, such as a novel, does not. In most books, the narrator, like us, becomes caught up in the telling of the story. In Notes from the Underground, we are given a section that displays the Underground Man’s worry about the way in which the reader actually feels about the language he is using. This care in word choice is an important component of poetry.
ReplyDeleteI read poetry in search of someone who has found a way to express my feelings in words. That is the same reason I write: to attempt to put the rampant thoughts in my head onto paper. To me, poetry means opening my eyes and appreciating the world around me, opening myself and pouring everything I have onto a page, and opening my mind to new horizons while organizing the mess in there. I agree when Keating says “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute”; I write poetry because some days it is all that keeps me alive. People come and go, but a pen and a scrap of paper are always there and listen to whatever I have to say, be it good or bad, exhilarating or frightening. I write poetry in an attempt to let go and leave with a feeling of relief. I read poetry to find common ground and to remind myself that there are more sides to this world than the one I see.
The bewildered appearance of a class instructed to ravage their own textbooks resonated to me, because Robin williams, as John Keating, wanted to instruct his class on the notion that people do need others to explicitly instruct us on what to think. It is extraordinarily easy to accommodate every new perspective as fact without so much as a second thought. However, life is not black and white as there is always two sides to every real story. For example, Robin explicitly stated to his class while trying to gain their attention that: ‘No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” Robin Williams tries to instill a sense of free thinking to, what appears to be based on a dress code, an otherwise rigid class by denying everything that the class has already been told about ideas and words, so that the class on an individual basis realises that ideas and words can have a profound impact on the world. His specific use of the word “can” implies a possibility which will be dictated by the students on an individual basis as a choice, because like anybody else each student can choose whether to care or not. Any student has the choice to think over words and ideas as well as whether to act upon them to change the world. Yet, many people still refuse to think for themselves and allow their choices to be dictated by hearsay. This small clip from Dead Poet’s Society resonates a sense of free thinking that can be lost or neglected, which must be rectified if a teacher, played by Robin Williams, is forced to reiterate it to his class. We have the choice as to what to think and must use it if we are ever to change the world.
ReplyDeleteI read and write poetry to simply learn how to improve myself and the world. Writing poetry helps to bring my own personal problems to light, because I am a person full of doubt in my abilities, my opinions, and my very existence. Poetry validates that my fears exist. The fear of fading into the shadow of those around me hangs over as well as the fact that I do and don’t matter. What is but one life to over seven billion? Yet, poetry also serves to inhibit these fears by introducing me to the woes of the world, no matter how disproportionate in size, so that my predicaments are no longer singular but serve as an example to the woes of man. It not only displays my fear but rectifies them as well.. When I see that I am not the only one suffering i gain a sense of duty rather than fear so that I must act to rectify them for myself as well as others. Poetry enlightens me to the problem so that I can act. I use such phrases as “stereo-typically speaking” or focus on words that imply a possibility to avoid offending others or fearing I made a fool of myself by avoiding a self assured stance. I want to avoid my past suffering and prevent the past woes of the world, poetry is one of the many instruments I use to do it.
We as members of the human race write poetry to show emotion, emotion that cannot be measured or expressed through numbers or equations. It is conveyed in Dead Poet’s Society the poems also cannot be measured by mathematical equations since they are composed of human emotion. In Dead Poet’s Society, Mr. Keating tells his literature class that emotion - happiness, love, passion, the feeling of fulfillment, etc. - is why people wish to stay alive, because life without emotion would be a drab, meaningless existence. Through poetry we can express our emotions as opposed to keeping our feelings bottled up insides of us. With language people are able to capture their emotions at any one instance to keep and savor.
ReplyDeleteThe savoring of emotions is the same reason why members of the human race read poetry. Poetry allows people to glimpse into another individual’s mind, to feel what they are feeling, and to connect with them through common emotions. Through poetry we as humans are prompted to think for ourselves, discovering what the different emotions and ideas conveyed to a poem mean to us. Each poem does not have one specific meaning or a specific measurement of quality, that is for each individual to determine. The meaning of a poem to one person may be as unique as that individual is compared to the rest of the human race because humans are so unique and composed of such emotions, levels of them, and experiences that shift the levels of those feelings. Ultimately, poetry is written and read for the individual; we write to express our own emotions, and we read to feel the emotions of another and think to uncover the meaning of those feelings to ourselves.
Poetry in itself is an art form; it is an expression of humanity itself and his emotions. In the clip from the movie Dead Poet's Society the teacher has his students rip out the pages of their textbooks to prove a point. He had them rip those pages out to prove that man reads and writes poetry because of his own desires, ideas, and passions and the pages of a textbook are not going to teach them what poetry is all about.
ReplyDeleteOne does not merely write poetry. One is poetry. Each line of poetry are the thoughts and expressions of the writer him/herself. We write poetry through love, passion, and everything else that drives us in this world. Poetry is an expression of who we are ourselves. That is what I think about while reading and writing poetry. What was the author writing about here? What was he/she feeling? What am I writing about? Poetry is an expression of ourselves onto paper in a form of art.