MOTHER
Now remember, keep your shoulders back.

MAN 1
Okay. Put your arm around your brother.

MAN 1
Okay, one more.

HABER
Now just to review, you'll follow along with the procession until you get to the headmaster. At that point, he will indicate to you to light the candles of the boys'.

MAN 2
All right, boys. Let's settle down.

MAN 3
Banners up!

MR. NOLAN
Ladies and gentlemen, boys, the light of
the knowledge.

MR. NOLAN
One hundred years ago, in 1859, forty-one boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that now greets you at the start of each semester. Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?

BOYS
Tradition! Honor! Discipline!
Excellence!
MR. NOLAN
In her first year, Welton Academy graduated five students. Last year we graduated fifty-one and more than seventy-five percent of those went on to the Ivy League. This, this kind of accomplishment is the result of fervent dedication to the principles taught here. This is why you parents have been sending your sons. This is why we are the best preparatory school in the United States.

MR. NOLAN
As you know, our beloved Mr. Portius of the English Department retired last term. You will have the opportunity later to meet his replacement Mr. John Keating, himself an honor's graduate of this school and who, for the past several years, has been teaching at the highly regarded Chester School in London.

MR. NOLAN
Glad you could come by.

MR. ANDERSON
Thrilling ceremony as usual, Dr. Nolan.

MR. NOLAN
You've been away too long.

MRS. ANDERSON
Hello, Dr. Nolan.

MR. NOLAN
Good to have you.

MRS. ANDERSON
This is our youngest, Todd.

MR. NOLAN
Mr. Anderson, you have some big shoes to fill, young man. Your brother was one of our finest.
TODD
Thank you.

MRS. PERRY
Lovely ceremony.

MR. NOLAN
Thank you. I'm so glad you liked it.

MR. PERRY
Gale.

MR. NOLAN
Tom.

MR. PERRY
Good to see you again.

NEIL
Hello, Mr. Nolan.

MR. NOLAN
Neil, we expect great things from you this year.

NEIL
Thank you, sir.
MR. PERRY
Well, he won't disappoint us. Right, Neil?

NEIL
I'll do my best, sir.

FATHER 1
Come on, son.

MOTHER 1
Chin up.

BOY 1
Okay.

MOTHER 1
Chin up.

FATHER 1
No tears now.

BOY 2
I don't want to go here.

MOTHER 2
Honey, I love you.

FATHER 1
I'll walk you over.

MOTHER 2
Do your lessons.

NEIL
Hey. I hear we're gonna be roommates.
I'm Neil Perry.

TODD
I'm Todd Anderson.

NEIL
Why'd you leave Balincrest?

TODD
My brother went here.

NEIL
Oh, so you're that Anderson!

FATHER
This is for his sinuses. And, oh, if he, if he can't, uh, swallow, you give him one of these. And if he has trouble breathing, you give him--

HABER
All right, fine.

FATHER
And, oh, did you remember your vaporizer? And the vapor--

BOY
Hey, how's it going, Neil?

CAMERON
Neil? Study group tonight?

NEIL
Yeah, sure.

CAMERON
Business as usual, huh? Hey, I heard you got the new kid. Looks like a stiff. Oops.

NEIL
Listen. Don't mind Cameron. He's, uh, born with his foot in his mouth. Know what I mean?

CHARLIE
Rumor has it you did summer school.

NEIL
Yep. Chemistry. My father thought I should get ahead. How was your summer, Slick?

CHARLIE
Keen. Meeks, door, close.

MEEKS
Yes, sir.

CHARLIE
Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?

BOYS
Travesty! Horror! Decadence! Excrement!

CHARLIE
Okay, study group. Meeks aced Latin. I didn't quite flunk English. So if you want, we got our study group.

NEIL
Sure. Cameron asked me too. Anyone mind including him?

CHARLIE
What's his specialty? Bootlicking?

NEIL
Uh, he's your roommate.

CHARLIE
That's not my fault.

MEEKS
Uh, I'm sorry. My name is Stephen Meeks.

NEIL
Oh, this is Todd Anderson.

TODD
Nice to meet you.

MEEKS
Nice to meet you.

CHARLIE
Charlie Dalton.

KNOX
Knox Overstreet.

NEIL
Todd's brother was Jeffrey Anderson.

CHARLIE
Oh, yeah, sure. Valedictorian, National Merit Scholar.

MEEKS
Oh, well! Welcome to Hellton.

CHARLIE
It's every bit as tough as they say. Unless you're a genius like Meeks.

MEEKS
He flatters me. That's why I'll help him with Latin.

CHARLIE
And English, and trig.

NEIL
It's open.

NEIL
Father, I thought you'd gone.

CHARLIE
Mr. Perry, sir.

MR. PERRY
Keep your seats, fellas. Keep your seats. Neil, I've just spoken to Mr. Nolan. I think that you're taking too many extracurricular activities this semester. And I've decided that you should drop school annual.

NEIL
But I'm the assistant editor this year.

MR. PERRY
Well, I'm sorry, Neil.

NEIL
But, father, I can't. It wouldn't be fair.

MR. PERRY
Fellas? Would you excuse us for a moment?

MR. PERRY
Don't you ever dispute me in public! Do you understand?

NEIL
Father, I wasn't disputing you-

MR. PERRY
After you've finished medical school and you're on your own, then you can do as you damn well please. But until then, you do as I tell you. Is that clear?

NEIL
Yes, sir. I'm sorry.

MR. PERRY
You know how much this means to your mother, don't you?

NEIL
Yes, sir.

NEIL
You know me. I'm always taking on too much.

MR. PERRY
Well, that's my boy. Now, listen. You need anything, you let us know, huh?

NEIL
Yes, sir.

CHARLIE
Why doesn't he let you do what you want?

KNOX
Yeah. Neil, tell him off. It couldn't get any worse.

NEIL
Oh, that's rich! Like you guys tell your parents off, Mr. Future Lawyer and Mr. Future Banker?

KNOX
Okay, so I don't like it any more than you do.

NEIL
Well, stop telling me how to talk to my father. You guys are the same way.

KNOX
All right, all right. Jesus. So what are you gonna do, then?

NEIL
What I have to do. Drop the annual.

CHARLIE
Well, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. It's just a bunch of jerks trying to impress Nolan.

NEIL
I don't care. I don't give a damn about any of it.

MEEKS
Well, uh, Latin, eight o'clock in my room?

NEIL
Yeah.

KNOX
I guess so.

MEEKS
Todd, you're welcome to join us.

CHARLIE
Yeah, come along, pal.

TODD
Thanks.

McALLISTER
Slow down, boys! Slow down, you horrible
phalanx of pubescence!

SCIENCE TEACHER
Pick three laboratory experiments from
the project list and report on them
every five weeks. The first twenty
questions at the end of Chapter One are
due tomorrow.

McALLISTER
Agricolam.

BOYS
Agricolam.

McALLISTER
Agricola.

BOYS
Agricola.

McALLISTER
Agricolae.

BOYS
Agricolae.

McALLISTER
Agricolarum.

BOYS
Agricolarum.

McALLISTER
Agricolis.

BOYS
Agricolis.

McALLISTER
Agricolas.

BOYS
Agricolas.

McALLISTER
Agricolis.

BOYS
Agricolis.

McALLISTER
Again, please. Agricola.

BOYS
Agricola.

HABER
Your study of trigonometry requires
absolute precision. Anyone failing to
turn in any homework assignment will be
penalized one point off their final
grade. Let me urge you now not to test
me on this point.

BOY 1
Hey, Spaz! Spaz!

BOY 2
Brian damaged.

KEATING
Well, come on!

BOY
Let's go. Let's go, guys.

KEATING
"O Captain! My Captain!" Who knows where
that comes from? Anybody.

KEATING
Not a clue? It's from a poem by Walt
Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now,
this class, you can either call me Mr.
Keating, or, if you're slightly more
daring, "O Captain! My Captain."

KEATING
Now let me dispel a few rumors, so they
don't fester into facts. Yes, I, too,
attended Hellton and have survived. And
no, at that time, I was not the mental
giant you see before you. I was the
intellectual equivalent of a ninety-
eight-pound weakling. I would go to the
beach, and people would kick copies of
Byron in my face.

KEATING
Now, Mr. Pitts. That's rather
unfortunate name. Mr. Pitts, where are
you?

KEATING
Mr. Pitts, will you open your hymnal to
page 542? Read the first stanza of the
poem you find there.

PITTS
"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"?

KEATING
Yes. That's the one. Somewhat
appropriate, isn't it?

PITTS

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying:
And this same flowers that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

KEATING
Thank you, Mr. Pitts. "Gather ye
rosebuds while ye may." The Latin term
for that sentiment is "Carpe diem". Now
who knows what that means?

MEEKS
Carpe diem. That's "seize the day."

KEATING
Very good, Mr--

MEEKS
Meeks.

KEATING
Meeks. Another unusual name. Seize the
day. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may."
Why does the writer use these lines?

CHARLIE
Because he's in a hurry.

KEATING
No! Ding! Thank you for playing anyway.
Because we are food for worms, lads.
Because, believe it or not, each and
every one of us in this room is, one
day, gonna stop breathing, turn cold,
and die. I would like you to step
forward over here and peruse some of the
faces from the past. You've walked past
them many times, but I don't think
you've really looked at them.

KEATING
They're not that different from you, are
they? Same haircuts, full of hormones
just like you. Invincible just like you
feel. The world is their oyster. They
believe they're destined for great
things, just like many of you. Their
eyes are full of hope, just like you.
Did they wait until it was too late to
make from their lives even one iota of
what they were capable? Because, you
see, gentlemen, those boys are now
fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen
real close, you can hear them whisper
their legacy to you. Go on, lean in.
Listen. Do you hear it?

KEATING
Carpe. Hear it? Carpe. Carpe diem. Seize
the day, boys. Make your lives
extraordinary.

PITTS
That was weird.

NEIL
But different.

KNOX
Spooky if you ask me.

CAMERON
He'll test us on that stuff?

CHARLIE
Oh, come on, Cameron. Don't you get
anything?

CAMERON
What? What?
TEACHER: Let's go, boys. Hustle up in
here. That means you, Dalton.

MEEKS
All right, who's up for our study group
tonight, guys?

BOY 1
Sure.

BOY 2
Me.

BOY 3
Me, me, me.

KNOX
Well, I can't make it, guys. I have to
have dinner at the Danburrys' house
tonight.

CHARLIE
Ooh, the Danburrys.

NEIL
Who are the Danburrys?

CHARLIE
Big alums! How'd you swing that?

KNOX
Friends of my dad's. They're probably in
their nineties or something. Sounds
great, doesn't it?

NEIL
Anything's better than Hellton hash.

CHARLIE
I'll second that.

MEEKS
Yeah, well, we'll see.

NEIL
Hey! Want to come to the study group
tonight?

TODD
Uh, no. No. I've, I-I've got some
history I wanna do.

NEIL
Suit yourself.

HABER
Ready, Overstreet?

KNOX
Ready to go, sir.

MRS. DANBURRY
Chet, can you get that?

CHET
I can't, Mom.

CHRIS
I'll get it.

CHRIS
Can I help you?

KNOX
Hi. K-Knox Overstreet. Uh, Dr. Hager.

CHRIS
Hi.

KNOX
This is the Danburrys', right?

CHRIS
Are, are you here to see Chet?

KNOX
Mrs. Danburry?

CHRIS
No.

MRS. DANBURRY
I'm sorry. Thank you, Chris. I'm Mrs.
Danburry. You must be Knox.

KNOX
Yes.

MRS. DANBURRY
Back by nine? Please, come on in.

CHET
Chris, come on. What are you doing?

CHRIS
Chet, I'm coming.

MR. DANBURRY
Knox! How are you? Joe Danburry.

KNOX
Nice to meet you, sir.

MR. DANBURRY
Well, he's the spitting image of his
father, isn't he? How is he? Come on in.

KNOX
He's great. He just did a big case for
G.M.

MR. DANBURRY
Yeah, I know where you're headed. Like
father, like son, huh?

BOY 1
Yes!

BOY 2
Oh, sacrifice bishop to queen six.

BOY 1
Another game?

BOY 2
What do you mean?

PITTS
Boo!

CAMERON
Replace, uh, these numbers here with X--
For X and Y.

NEIL
Of course.

CAMERON
Of course. So what's the problem?

CHARLIE
How was dinner?

KNOX
Huh?

CHARLIE
How was dinner?

KNOX
Terrible. Awful.

CHARLIE
What? What happened?

KNOX
Tonight I met the most beautiful girl I
have ever seen in my entire life.

NEIL
Are you crazy? What's wrong with that?

KNOX
She's practically engaged. To Chet
Danburry.

CHARLIE
The guy could eat a football.

PITTS
Too bad.

KNOX
Too bad? It's worse than too bad, Pitts.
It's a tragedy. A girl this beautiful in
love with such a jerk?

PITTS
All the good ones go for jerks, you know
that.

CAMERON
Yeah, forget her. Open your trig book
and try and figure out problem five.

KNOX
I can't just forget her, Cameron. And I
certainly can't think about trig!

PITTS
We got it!

HABER
All right, gentlemen, five minutes.
Let's go.

CHARLIE
Did you see her naked?

KNOX
Very funny, Dalton.

HABER
That wouldn't be a, uh, radio in your
lap, wouldn't it, Mr. Pitts?

PITTS
No, sir. A science experiment. Radar.

KEATING
Gentlemen, open your texts to page 21 of
this introduction. Mr. Perry, will you
read the opening paragraph of the
preface entitled "Understanding Poetry"?

NEIL
"'Understanding Poetry,' by Dr. J. Evans
Pritchard, Ph.D. To fully understand
poetry, we must first be fluent with its
meter, rhyme and figures of speech, then
ask two questions: 1) How artfully has
the objective of the poem been rendered
and 2) How important is that objective?
Question 1 rates the poem's perfection;
question 2 rates its importance. And
once these questions have been answered,
determining the poem's greatness becomes
a relatively simple matter."

NEIL
"If the poem's score for perfection is
plotted on the horizontal of a graph and
its importance is plotted on the
vertical, then calculating the total
area of the poem yields the measure of
its greatness."

NEIL
"A sonnet by Byron might score high on
the vertical but only average on the
horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on
the other hand, would score high both
horizontally and vertically, yielding a
massive total area, thereby revealing
the poem to be truly great. As you
proceed through the poetry in this book,
practice this rating method. As your
ability to evaluate poems in this matter
grows, so will, so will your enjoyment
and understanding of poetry."

KEATING
Excrement. That's what I think of Mr. J.
Evans Pritchard. We're not laying pipe.
We're talking about poetry. How can you
describe poetry like American Bandstand?
"Oh, I like Byron. I give him a 42, but
I can't dance to it." Now, I want you to
rip out that page.

KEATING
Go on. Rip out the entire page. You
heard me. Rip it out. Rip it out! Go on.
Rip it out!

KEATING
Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Gentlemen, tell
you what. Don't just tear out that page,
tear out the entire introduction. I want
it gone. History. Leave nothing of it.
Rip it out! Rip! Be gone, J. Evans
Pritchard, Ph.D. Rip. Shred. Tear. Rip
it out! I want to hear nothing but
ripping of Mr. Pritchard. We'll
perforate it, put it on a roll. It's not
the Bible. You're not gonna go to hell
for this.

KEATING
Go on. Make a clean tear. I want nothing
left of it.

CAMERON
We shouldn't be doing this.

KEATING
Rip! Rip! Rip! Rip it out! Rip!

KEATING
Rip it out!

McALLISTER
What the hell is going on here?

KEATING
I don't hear enough rips!

McALLISTER
Mr. Keating.

KEATING
Mr. McAllister.

McALLISTER
I'm sorry. I, I didn't know you were
here.

KEATING
I am. Ah.

McALLISTER
So you are. Excuse me.

KEATING
Keep ripping, gentlemen! This is a
battle. A war. And the casualties could
be your hearts and souls. Thank you,
Dalton. Armies of academics going
forward, measuring poetry. No! We'll not
have that here. No more Mr. J. Evans
Pritchard. Now, my class, you will learn
to think for yourselves again. You will
learn to savor words and language. No
matter what anybody tells you, words and
ideas can change the world. Now I see
that look in Mr. Pitts' eye, like 19th-
century literature has nothing to do
with going to business school or medical
school. Right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you
may agree with him, thinking, "Yes, we
should simply study our Mr. Pritchard
and learn our rhyme and meter and go
quietly about the business of achieving
other ambitions." I've a little secret
for you. Huddle up. Huddle up!

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. To quote
from Whitman
O me! O life! of the question of these
recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities fill'd with the foolish...
What good amid these O me, O life?
Answer
That you are here--That life exists and
identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you
may contribute a verse.

KEATING
"That the powerful play goes on, and you
may contribute a verse." What will your
verse be?

BOYS
For what we are about to receive, may
the Lord make us truly grateful. Amen.

McALLISTER
Quite an interesting class you gave
today, Mr. Keating.

KEATING
Sorry if I shocked you, Mr. McAllister.

McALLISTER
Oh, there's no need to apologize. It was
very fascinated, misguided though it
was.

KEATING
You think so?

McALLISTER
You take a big risk by encouraging them
to become artists, John. When they
realize that they're not Rembrandts,
Shakespeares or Mozarts, they'll hate
you for it.

KEATING
We're not talking artist, George. We're
talking free thinkers.

McALLISTER
Free thinkers at seventeen?

KEATING
Funny. I never pegged you as a cynic.

McALLISTER
Not a cynic. A realist. "Show me the
heart unfettered by foolish dreams and
I'll show you a happy man."

KEATING
"But only in their dreams can men be
truly free. 'Twas always thus, and
always thus will be."

McALLISTER
Tennyson?

KEATING
No. Keating.

NEIL
Hey, I found his senior annual in the
library.

NEIL
Listen to this. "Captain of the soccer
team, Editor of the school annual,
Cambridge bound, Thigh man, and Dead
Poets Society."

CAMERON
"Man most likely to do anything."

CHARLIE
Thigh man! Mr."K" was a hell-raiser.

PITTS
What's the Dead Poets Society?

NEIL
I don't know.

MEEKS
Is there a picture in the annual?

CAMERON
No.

NEIL
Nothing. No other mention of it.

MR. NOLAN
That boy there, see me after lunch.

NEIL
Mr. Keating! Mr. Keating! Sir?

CHARLIE
Say something.

NEIL
O Captain! My Captain!

KEATING
Gentlemen.

NEIL
We were just looking in your old annual.

KEATING
Oh, my God. No, that's not me. Stanley
"The Tool" Wilson.

KEATING
God.

NEIL
What was the Dead Poets Society?

KEATING
I doubt the present administration would
look too favorably upon that.

NEIL
Why? What was it?

KEATING
Gentlemen, can you keep a secret?

NEIL
Sure, yeah.

KEATING
The Dead Poets was dedicated to "sucking
the marrow out of life." That's a phrase
from Thoreau we would invoke at the
beginning of every meeting. You see, we
would gather at the old Indian cave and
take turns reading from Thoreau,
Whitman, Shelly -- the biggies -- even
some of our own verse. And, in the
enchantment of the moment, we'd let
poetry work its magic.

KNOX
You mean, it was a bunch of guys sitting
around reading poetry?

KEATING
No, Mr. Overstreet, it wasn't just guys.
We weren't a Greek organization. We were
Romantics. We didn't just read poetry,
we let it drip from our tongues like
honey. Spirits soared, women swooned and
gods were created, gentlemen. Not a bad
way to spend an evening, eh? Thank you,
Mr. Perry, for this stroll down Amnesia
Lane. Burn that, especially my picture.

NEIL
Dead Poets Society.

CHARLIE
What?

NEIL
I say we go tonight.

CHARLIE
Tonight?

CAMERON
Now, wait a minute.

NEIL
Everybody in?

PITTS
Where's this cave he's talking about?

NEIL
It's beyond the stream. I know where it
is.

PITTS
That's miles!

CAMERON
Sounds boring to me.

CHARLIE
Don't come.

CAMERON
Do you know how many demerits we're
talking, Dalton?

CHARLIE
So don't come. Please.

CAMERON
Look, all I'm saying is that we have to
be careful. We can't get caught.

CHARLIE
No shit, Sherlock.

HABER
You boys there, hurry up!

NEIL
All right. Who's in?

CAMERON
Oh, come on, Neil. Hager's the-

NEIL
Forget Hager! No. Who's in?

CHARLIE
I'm in.

HABER
I'm warning you! Move!

CAMERON
Me, too.

PITTS
I don't know, Neil.

NEIL
What?

CHARLIE
Pitts! Pittsie, come on!

MEEKS
His grades are hurting, Charlie.

NEIL
You can help him, Meeks.

PITTS
What is this, a midnight study group?

NEIL
Forget it, Pitts, you're coming. Meeks,
your grades hurting, too?

MEEKS
I'll try anything once.

CHARLIE
Except sex.

CAMERON
I'm in as long as we're careful.

CHARLIE
What about you, Knox?

KNOX
I don't know, Charlie.

CHARLIE
Come on, Knox. I'll help you get Chris.

KNOX
Yeah? How?

CHARLIE
Women swoon!

KNOX
But why do they swoon? Charlie, tell me
why they swoon. Charlie!

NEIL
You're not listening. Any questions?
Look, you follow the stream to the
waterfall. It's right there. It's gotta
be like that.

CAMERON
I don't know. It's starting to sound
dangerous.

CHARLIE
Oh. Why don't you just stay home?

CAMERON
Hey, you're crazy.

McALLISTER
For God's sake, stop chattering and sit
down!

NEIL
Todd, are you coming tonight?

TODD
No.

NEIL
Why not? God, you were there. You heard
Keating. Don't you want to do something
about--

TODD
Y-Yes, but--

NEIL
But, but what?

TODD
Keating said that everybody took turns
reading and I don't wanna do that.

NEIL
Gosh. You really have a problem with
that, don't you?

TODD
N-No, I, I don't have a problem. Neil, I
just-- I don't wanna do it, okay?

NEIL
All right. What if you didn't have to
read? What if you just came and
listened?

TODD
That's not how it works.

NEIL
Forget how it works! What if, what if
they said it was okay?

TODD
What? What, are you gonna go up and ask
them if-- No, no.

NEIL
I'll be right back.

TODD
Neil? Neil?

McALLISTER
Oh, shut up, will you?

BOY 1
It's my stuff for my asthma, okay? Could
you give that back, please? Could you
give that back?

BOY 2
What's the matter? Don't you like
snakes?

NEIL
You're in.

BOY 1
Get away from me, okay?

BOY 3
Spaz, why don't you check your pockets?

BOY 4
Come, Spaz. I have to brush my teeth.

BOY 5
Hurry up! Get off.

HABER
Cut out that racket in there.

NEIL
Come on. Let's get out. Go! Go!

CHARLIE
I'm a dead poet!

MEEKS
Charlie.

CHARLIE
Guys, over here!

MEEKS
You're funny. You're real funny.

PITTS
It's too wet.

CAMERON
Charlie, you trying to smoke us out of
here?

NEIL
No, no, the smoke's going right up this
opening.

PITTS
You okay?

MEEKS
Oh, God. Clods.

NEIL
All right, all right. Forget the fire.

CHARLIE
Forget it, forget it.

NEIL
Lets go, gentlemen.

MEEKS
Can't light a swamp.

NEIL
I hereby reconvene the Dead Poets
Society, Welton Chapter. The, uh,
meetings will be conducted by myself and
the other new initiates now present. Uh,
Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to
read, will keep the minutes of the
meetings.

NEIL
I'll now read the traditional opening
message by society member, Henry David
Thoreau. "I went to the woods because I
wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to
live deep and suck out all the marrow of
life."

CHARLIE
I'll second that.

NEIL
"To put to rout all that was not life,
and not, when I had come to die,
discover that I had not lived."

NEIL
And, uh, Keating's marked a bunch of
other pages.

CHARLIE
All right, intermission. Dig deep. Right
here, right here, lay it down.

MEEKS
On the mud? We're gonna put our food on
the mud?

CHARLIE
Meeks, put your coat down. Picnic
blanket.

MEEKS
Yes, sir! Excuse me.

PITTS
Use Meeks' coat.

CHARLIE
Don't keep anything back, either. You
guys are always bumming my smokes.

MEEKS
Raisins?

CHARLIE
Yeah. Wait a minute. Who gave us half a
roll?

CAMERON
I'm eating the other half.

CHARLIE
Come on.

CAMERON
What? You want me to put it back?

NEIL
It was a dark and rainy night. And this
old lady, who had a passion for jigsaw
puzzles, sat by herself in her house at
her table to complete the new jigsaw
puzzle. As she pieced the puzzle
together, she realized to her
astonishment that the image that was
formed was her very own room, and the
figure in the center of the puzzle as
she completed it was herself. And with
trembling hands, she placed the last
four pieces and stared in horror at the
face of a demented madman at the window.
The last thing that this old lady ever
heard was the sound of breaking glass.

KNOX
No shit.

NEIL
Yes. This is true. This is true.

CAMERON
I've got one that's even better than
that. I do. There's a young married
couple and they're driving through the
forest at night from a long trip. And
they run out of gas and there's a madman
on the loose.

CHARLIE
Oh, that thing with the hands?

PITTS
This is the madman on the roof?

CAMERON
I love that story.

CHARLIE
I told you that one.

CAMERON
You did not. I got that in, uh, camp in
sixth grade.

CHARLIE
Yeah. Were you six last year?

PITTS
"In a mean abode in the Shankill Road
lived a man named William Bloat. Now he
had a wife, the plague of his life, who
continually got his goat. And one day at
dawn with her night shift on, he slit
her bloody throat." Oh, and it gets
worse.

CHARLIE
Do you wanna hear a real poem?

MEEKS
Want this?

CHARLIE
All right? No, I don't need it. You take
it.

MEEKS
What, did you bring one?

NEIL
You memorized a poem?

CHARLIE
I didn't memorize a poem. Move up.

MEEKS
An original piece by Charlie Dalton.

KNOX
An original piece.

PITTS
Take center stage.

NEIL
You know this is history. Right? This is
history.

MEEKS
Oh, wow.

CAMERON
Where did you get that?

CHARLIE

Teach me to love? Go teach thyself more
wit:
I, chief professor, am of it.
The god of love, if such a thing there
be,
May learn to love from me.

NEIL
Wow! Did you write that?

CHARLIE
Abraham Cowley. Okay, who's next?

NEIL
Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Come my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world
for my purpose holds to sail beyond the
sunset.
And though we are not now that strength
which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we
are, we are;--
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong
in will.
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield.

MEEKS

Then I had religion, then I had a
vision.
I could not turn from their revel in
derision.
Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black,
cutting through the forest with a golden
track.
Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black-

CHARLIE
Meeks, Meeks.

MEEKS

...cutting through the forest with a
golden track.
Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black,
cutting through the forest with a golden
track.
Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black,
cutting through the forest with a golden
track.
Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black,
cutting through the forest with a golden
track.

BOYS

Then I saw the Congo creeping through
the black,
cutting through the forest wit...

KNOX
Morose?

KEATING
Exactly! Morose. Now, language was
developed for one endeavor, and that is?
Mr. Anderson? Come on! Are you a man or
an amoeba?

KEATING
Mr. Perry?

NEIL
Uh, to communicate.

KEATING
No! To woo women. Today we're going to
be talking about William Shakespeare.

BOY
Oh, God!

KEATING
I know. A lot of you looked forward to
this about as much as you look forward
to root canal work. We're gonna talk
about Shakespeare as someone who writes
something very interesting. Now, many of
you have seen Shakespeare done very much
like this, "O Titus, bring your friend
hither." But if any of you have seen Mr.
Marlon Brando, you know, Shakespeare can
be different. "Friend, Romans,
countrymen, lend me your ears." You can
also imagine, maybe, John Wayne as
Macbeth going, "Well, is this a dagger I
see before me?"

KEATING
"Dogs, sir? Oh, not just now. I do enjoy
a good dog once in a while, sir. You can
have yourself a three-course meal from
one dog. Start with your canine
crudites, go to your Fido flambe for
main course and for dessert, a Pekingese
parfait. And you can pick your teeth
with a little paw."

KEATING
Why do I stand up here? Anybody?

CHARLIE
To feel taller.

KEATING
No! Thank you for playing, Mr. Dalton. I
stand upon my desk to remind yourself
that we must constantly look at things
in a different way.

KEATING
You see, the world looks very different
from up here. You don't believe me? Come
see for yourself. Come on. Come on!

KEATING
Just when you think you know something,
you have to look at it in another way.
Even though it may seem silly or wrong,
you must try! Now, when you read, don't
just consider what the author thinks.
Consider what you think.

KEATING
Boys, you must strive to find your own
voice. Because the longer you wait to
begin, the less likely you are to find
it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead
lives of quiet desperation." Don't be
resigned to that. Break out! Don't just
walk off the edge like lemmings. Look
around you.

KEATING
There! There you go, Mr. Priske. Thank
you! Yes! Dare to strike out and find
new ground. Now, in addition to your
essays, I would like you to compose a
poem of your own, an original work.

KEATING
That's right! You have to deliver it
aloud in front of the class on Monday.
Bonne chance, gentlemen.

KEATING
Mr. Anderson? Don't think that I don't
know that this assignment scares the
hell out of you, you mole.

MR. NOLAN
Take a power train in two! Three! Keep
your eyes in the boat!

MEEKS
We got it, Pittsie. We got it! Radio
Free American!

NEIL
I found it.

TODD
You found what?

NEIL
What I wanna do right now. What's
really, really inside me.

TODD
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"?

NEIL
This is it.

TODD
What is this?

NEIL
It's a play, dummy.

TODD
I know that. I-- Wh-Wh-What does it have
to do with you?

NEIL
Right. They're putting it on at Henley
Hall. Open tryouts. Open tryouts!

TODD
Yes, so?

NEIL
So, I'm gonna act. Yes, yes! I'm gonna
be an actor! Ever since I can remember,
I've wanted to try this. I even tried to
go to summer stock auditions last year,
but, of course, my father wouldn't let
me. 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! Carpe diem!

TODD
Neil, Neil, hold on a minute. How are
you gonna be in a play if your father
won't let you?

NEIL
First I gotta get the part, then I can
worry about that.

TODD
Yeah, but won't he kill you if he finds
out you went to an audition and didn't
even tell him?

NEIL
No, no, no, no. As far as I'm concerned,
he won't have to know about any of this.

TODD
Well, that's impossible.

NEIL
Bullshit! Nothing's impossible.

TODD
Well, why don't you just call him and
ask him? And m-maybe he'll say yes.

NEIL
That's a laugh! If I don't ask him, at
least I won't be disobeying him.

TODD
Yeah, but if he said--

NEIL
Jesus, Todd! Whose side are you on?

NEIL
I mean, I haven't even gotten the part
yet. Can't I even enjoy the idea for a
little while?

NEIL
You're coming to the meeting this
afternoon?

TODD
I don't know. Maybe.

NEIL
Nothing Mr. Keating has to say means
shit to you, does it, Todd?

TODD
W-What is that supposed to mean?

NEIL
You're in the club! Being in the club
means being stirred up by things. You
look about as stirred up as a cesspool.

TODD
S-- You want me out?

NEIL
No! I want you in, but being in means
you gotta do something. Not just say
you're in.

TODD
Well, listen, Neil. I-I appreciate this
concern, but I-I'm not like you. All
right? You, you, you say thing and
people listen. I'm, I'm not like that.

NEIL
Don't you think you could be?

TODD
No! I--I, I don't know, but that's not
the point. The, the, the point is that
there's nothing you can do about it, so
you can just butt out. I can take care
of myself just fine. All right?

NEIL
No.

TODD
What do you mean, "no"?

NEIL
No.

TODD
Give me-- Neil. Neil, give that back.

NEIL
"We are dreaming of a--" Poetry! I'm
being chased by Walt Whitman! Okay,
okay.

CAMERON
What are you guys doing? I'm sure-- You
see this chemistry- Hey, give me-- Neil,
give me-- Don't be immature. Come on. I
need my-

CHARLIE
Give it to me! Give it to me!

NEIL
Charlie, help me.

COACH
Okay, everybody on the bus. Let's go,
boys. Come on, let's go. On the bus,
boys. Now!

KEATING
Now, devotees may argue that one sport
or game is inherently better than
another. For me, sport is actually a
chance for us to have other human beings
push us to excel. I want you all to come
over here and take a slip of paper and
line up single file.

KEATING
Mr. Meeks, time to inherit the earth.
Mr. Pitts, rise above your name. I want
you to hand these out to the boys, one
apiece.

KEATING
You know what to do, Pitts.

PITTS
"Oh to struggle against great odds. To
meet enemies undaunted."

KEATING
Sounds to me like you're daunted. Say it
again like you're undaunted.

PITTS
"Oh to struggle against great odds. To
meet enemies undaunted."

KEATING
Now go on.

KEATING
Yes! Next.

BOY 1
"To be a sailor of the world, bound for
all ports."

KEATING
Next. Louder!

BOY 2
"Oh, I live to be the ruler of life, not
a slave."

BOY 3
"To mount the scaffolds. To advance to
the muzzle of guns with perfect
nonchalance."

KEATING
Come on, Meeks! Listen to the music.

MEEKS
"To dance, clap hands, exalt, shout,
skip, roll on, float on."

KEATING
Yes!

HOPKINS
"Oh, to have life henceforth the poem of
new joys."

KEATING
Oh! Boo! Come on, Charlie, let it fill
your soul!

CHARLIE
"To indeed be a god!"

NEIL
Charlie, I got the part! I'm gonna play
Puck! I'm gonna play Puck!

MEEKS
What did he say?

PITTS
Puck?

NEIL
That's the main part.

KNOX
Great, Neil.

NEIL
Charlie, I got it!

CHARLIE
Congratulations. Good for you, Neil.
Good for you.

NEIL
Okay, okay, okay, okay.

TODD
Neil, how are you gonna do this?

NEIL
They need a letter of permission from my
father and Mr. Nolan.

TODD
You're not gonna write it.

NEIL
Oh yes, I am.

TODD
Oh, Neil. Neil, you're crazy.

NEIL
Okay. "I am writing to you on behalf of
my son Neil Perry." This is great.

KNOX
"To Chris."

BOY 1
Who's Chris?

BOY 2
Mmm, Chris.

KNOX

I see a sweetness in her smile.
Blight light shines from her eyes.
But life is complete; contentment is
mine,
Just knowing that... just knowing that
she's alive.

KNOX
Sorry, Captain. It's stupid.

KEATING
No, no. It's not stupid. It's a good
effort. It touched on one of the major
themes, love. A major theme not only in
poetry, but life. Mr. Hopkins, you were
laughing. You're up.

HOPKINS
"The cat sat on the mat."

KEATING
Congratulations, Mr. Hopkins. Yours is
the first poem to ever have a negative
score on the Pritchard scale. We're not
laughing at you, we're laughing near
you. I don't mind that your poem had a
simple theme. Sometimes the most
beautiful poetry can be about simple
things, like a cat, or a flower or rain.
You see, poetry can come from anything
with the stuff of revelation in it. Just
don't let your poems be ordinary. Now,
who's next?

KEATING
Mr. Anderson, I see you sitting there in
agony. Come on, Todd, step up. Let's put
you out of your misery.

TODD
I, I didn't do it. I didn't write a
poem.

KEATING
Mr. Anderson thinks that everything
inside of him is worthless and
embarrassing. Isn't that right, Todd?
Isn't that your worst fear? Well, I
think you're wrong. I think you have
something inside of you that is worth a
great deal.

KEATING
"I sound my barbaric yawp over the
rooftops of the world." W. W. Uncle Walt
again. Now, for those of you who don't
know, a yawp is a loud cry or yell. Now,
Todd, I would like you to give us a
demonstration of a barbaric "yawp." Come
on. You can't yawp sitting down. Let's
go. Come on. Up.

KEATING
You gotta get in "yawping" stance.

TODD
A yawp.

KEATING
No, not just a yawp. A barbaric yawp.

TODD
Yawp.

KEATING
Come on, louder.

TODD
Yawp.

KEATING
No, that's a mouse. Come on. Louder.

TODD
Yawp.

KEATING
Oh, good God, boy. Yell like a man!

TODD
Yawp!

KEATING
There it is. You see, you have a
barbarian in you, after all. Now, you
don't get away that easy.

KEATING
The picture of Uncle Walt up there. What
does he remind you of? Don't think.
Answer. Go on.

TODD
A m-m-madman.

KEATING
What kind of madman? Don't think about
it. Just answer again.

TODD
A c-crazy madman.

KEATING
No, you can do better than that. Free up
your mind. Use your imagination. Say the
first thing that pops into your head,
even if it's total gibberish. Go on, go
on.

TODD
Uh, uh, a sweaty-toothed madman.

KEATING
Good God, boy, there's a poet in you,
after all. There, close your eyes. Close
your eyes. Close 'em. Now, describe what
you see.

TODD
Uh, I-I close my eyes.

KEATING
Yes?

TODD
Uh, and this image floats beside me.

KEATING
A sweaty-toothed madman?

TODD
A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare
that pounds my brain.

KEATING
Oh, that's excellent. Now, give him
action. Make him do something.

TODD
H-His hands reach out and choke me.

KEATING
That's it. Wonderful. Wonderful.

TODD
And, and all the time he's mumbling.

KEATING
What's he mumbling?

TODD
M-Mumbling, "Truth. Truth is like, like
a blanket that always leaves your feet
cold."

KEATING
Forget them, forget them. Stay with the
blanket. Tell me about that blanket.

TODD
Y-Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it'll
never be enough. You kick at it, beat
it, it'll never cover any of us. From
the moment we enter crying to the moment
we leave dying, it will just cover your
face as you wail and cry and scream.

KEATING
Don't you forget this.

CHARLIE
Attaboy, Pittsie, inhale deeply.

MEEKS
My dad collects a lot of pipes.

CHARLIE
Really? Mine's got thirty.

PITTS
Your parents collect pipes? Oh, that's
really interesting.

CHARLIE
Come on, Knox. Join in.

MEEKS
Yeah, Knox, we're from the government.
We're here to help, man.

CHARLIE
What's wrong?

PITTS
It's Chris. Here's a picture of Chris
for you.

MEEKS
Smoke that. Put that in your pipe and
smoke it.

KNOX
That's not funny.

CHARLIE
Knock it off. Smoke your pipes.

MEEKS
Neil!

NEIL
Friend, scholar, Welton men.

MEEKS
What is that, Neil?

PITTS
Duh. It's a lamp, Meeks.

NEIL
No. This is the god of the cave.

MEEKS
The god of the cave.

PITTS
Charlie, what are you doing?

CHARLIE
What do you say we start this meeting?

BOY 1
Y-Yeah, just-- I need a light. I just
gotta-

BOY 2
Got my earplugs?

CHARLIE
Gentlemen, "Poetrusic" by Charles
Dalton.

BOY 3
Oh, boy. He's gonna play.
BOY:Oh, no.

CHARLIE
Laughing, crying, tumbling, mumbling.
Gotta do more. Gotta be more.

CHARLIE
Chaos screaming, chaos dreaming. Gotta
do more! Gotta be more!

MEEKS
Wow!

PITTS
That was nice. That was great. Where did
you learn to play like that?

CHARLIE
My parents made me take the clarinet for
years.

CAMERON
I love the clarinet.

CHARLIE
I hated it. The saxophone. The saxophone
is more sonorous.

CAMERON
Oh.

MEEKS
Vocabulary.

KNOX
I can't take it anymore. If I don't have
Chris, I'm gonna kill myself.

CHARLIE
Knoxious, you've gotta calm down.

KNOX
No, Charlie. That's just my problem.
I've been calm all my life. I'll do
something about that.

NEIL
Where are you going?

CHARLIE
What are you gonna do?

KNOX
I'm gonna call her. Yes!

CHRIS
Hello?

KNOX
She's gonna hate me. The Danburrys will
hate me. My parents will kill me.

KNOX
All right, goddamn it. You're right.
"Carpe diem." Even if it kills me.

CHRIS
Hello?

KNOX
Hello, Chris?

CHRIS
Yes.

KNOX
Hi. This is Knox Overstreet.

CHRIS
Oh, yes. Knox. Glad you called.

KNOX
She's glad I called.

CHRIS
Listen, Chet's parents are going out of
town this weekend, so he's having a
party. Would you like to come?

KNOX
Would I like to come to a party?

CHARLIE
Yes. Say, yes.

CHRIS
Friday? Um-

KNOX
Well, sure.

CHRIS
About seven?

KNOX
Okay, great. I-I'll be there, Chris.

CHRIS
Okay.

KNOX
Friday night at the Danburrys'. O-Okay.
Thank you.

CHRIS
Okay. Bye.

KNOX
Thank you. I'll see you. Bye.

KNOX
Yawp! Can you believe it? She was gonna
call me. She invited me to a party with
her.

CHARLIE
At Chet Danburrys' house.

KNOX
Yeah.

CHARLIE
Well?

KNOX
So?

CHARLIE
So, you don't really think she means
you're going with her?

KNOX
Well, of course not, Charlie. But that's
not the point. That's not the point at
all.

CHARLIE
What is the point?

KNOX
The point, Charlie, is, uh--

CHARLIE
Yeah?

KNOX
-- that she was thinking about me. I've
only met her once, and already she's
thinking about me. Damn it. It's gonna
happen, guys. I feel it. She is going to
be mine. Carpe. Carpe!

KEATING
No grades at stake, gentlemen. Just take
a stroll.

KEATING
There it is.

KEATING
I don't know, but I've been told--

BOYS
I don't know, but I've been told--

KEATING
Doing poetry is old--

BOYS
Doing poetry is old--

KEATING
Left, left, left-right-left. Left, left,
left-right-left. Left, halt!

KEATING
Thank you, gentlemen. If you noticed,
everyone started off with their own
stride, their own pace. Mr. Pitts,
taking his time. He knew he'll get there
one day. Mr. Cameron, you could see him
thinking, "Is this right? It might be
right. It might be right. I know that.
Maybe not. I don't know." Mr.
Overstreet, driven by deeper force. Yes.
We know that.
All right. Now, I didn't bring them up
here to ridicule them. I brought them up
here to illustrate the point of
conformity: the difficulty in
maintaining your own beliefs in the face
of others. Now, those of you -- I see
the look in your eyes like, "I would've
walked differently." Well, ask
yourselves why you were clapping. Now,
we all have a great need for acceptance.
But you must trust that your beliefs are
unique, your own, even though others may
think them odd or unpopular, even though
the herd may go, "That's bad." Robert
Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a
wood and I, I took the one less traveled
by, and that has made all the
difference." Now, I want you to find
your own walk right now. Your own way of
striding, pacing. Any direction.
Anything you want. Whether it's proud,
whether it's silly, anything. Gentlemen,
the courtyard is yours.

KEATING
You don't have to perform. Just make it
for yourself. Mr. Dalton? You be joining
us?

CHARLIE
Exercising the right not to walk.

KEATING
Thank you, Mr. Dalton. You just
illustrated the point. Swim against the
stream.

NEIL
Todd? Hey.

TODD
Hey.

NEIL
What's going on?

TODD
Nothing. Today's my birthday.

NEIL
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday.

TODD
Thanks.

NEIL
What's you get?

TODD
My parents gave me this.

NEIL
Isn't this the same desk set-

TODD
Yeah, yeah. They gave me the same thing
as last year.

NEIL
Oh.

TODD
Oh.

NEIL
Maybe they thought you needed another
one.

TODD
Maybe they weren't thinking about
anything at all. Uh, the funny thing is
about this is I, I didn't even like it
the first time.

NEIL
Todd, I think you're underestimating the
value of this desk set. I mean, who
would want a football or a baseball, or-
-

TODD
Or a car.

NEIL
Or a car if they could have a desk set
as wonderful as this one? I mean, if, if
I were ever going to buy a, a desk set
twice, I would probably buy this one
both times. In fact, its, its shape is,
it's rather aerodynamic, isn't it? I can
feel it. This desk set wants to fly.

NEIL
Todd? The world's first unmanned flying
desk set.

TODD
Oh, my!

NEIL
Well, I wouldn't worry. You'll get
another one next year.

BOYS
"To live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life. To put to rout all that
was not life"

CAMERON
Oh, my God!

GLORIA
Is this it?

CHARLIE
Yeah, this is it. Go ahead, go on in.
It's my cave. Watch your step.

TINA
We're not gonna slip, are we?

GLORIA
Uh-oh. Hi.

BOY
Hello.

GLORIA
Hello.

CHARLIE
Hi, you guys. Meet, uh, Gloria and--

TINA
Tina.

CHARLIE
Tina. This is the pledge class of the
Dead Poets Society.
BOY:Hello. How do you do?

NEIL
Hello.

GLORIA
Hi. Hi.

CHARLIE
Guys, move. Move. Come on, folks. It's
Friday night. Let's get on with the
meeting.
BOY:Sorry. Excuse-Excuse me.

CHARLIE
Guys, I have an announcement to make. In
keeping with the spirit of passionate
experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm
giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From
now on, call me Nuwanda.

PITTS
Nuwanda?

NEIL
Nuwanda?

CHARLIE
Okay.

KNOX
Hello? Hello, Chris?

CHRIS
Knox!

KNOX
Hi.

CHRIS
You made it. Great! Bring anybody?

KNOX
No.

CHRIS
No. Ginny Danburry's here. Wait. I have
to go find Chet. Why don't you go
downstairs where everybody is?

CHRIS
Make yourself at home.

KNOX
But I--

GUY 1
Hey, you Mutt Sanders' brother? Bubba,
this guy look like Mutt Sanders to you
or what?

BUBBA
You're his brother?

KNOX
No relation. Never heard of him. Sorry,
guys.

BUBBA
Where's your manners? Mutt Sanders'
brother, we don't even offer him a
drink. Here. Go have some whiskey, pal.

GUY 1
Yeah.

KNOX
Whoa, I, uh, I don't really drink--

BUBBA
To Mutt.

GUY 1
To Mutt.

KNOX
To Mutt.

BUBBA
Now, how the hell is old Mutt, anyway?

GUY 1
Yeah. What's ol' Mutter been up to, huh?

KNOX
I don't really know Mutt.

BUBBA
To Mighty Mutt.

GUY 1
To Mighty Mutt.

KNOX
To Mighty Mutt.

BUBBA
Well, listen, I gotta go find Patsy. Say
hello to Mutt for me, okay?

KNOX
Will do.

GUY 1
Yeah. Hell of a guy, your brother Mutt.

CHARLIE
We gonna have a meeting or what?

GLORIA
Yeah. If you guys don't have a meeting,
how do we know if we wanna join?

NEIL
Join?

CHARLIE
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more
temperate."

TINA
That's so sweet.

CHARLIE
I made that up just for you.

TINA
You did?

CHARLIE
I'll write one for you too, Gloria.
She walks in beauty like the night.
She walks in beauty like the night.
Of cloudless climes and starry skies.
All that's best, dark and bright,
Meet in her aspect and her eyes.

GLORIA
That's beautiful.

CHARLIE
There's plenty more where that came
from.

KNOX
God help me. Carpe diem.

BUBBA
Chet! Chet! Look!

CHET
What?

BUBBA
It's Mutt Sanders' brother.

CHET
Huh?

CHRIS
Knox, what--

BUBBA
And he's feeling up your girl!

CHRIS
What are you doing?

CHET
What the hell are you doing?

CHRIS
Chet! Chet, don't.

KNOX
Now, Chet, I know this looks bad, but
you've gotta-

CHRIS
Chet, no! You'll hurt him! No! No! Stop
it! Leave him alone!

CHET
Goddamn!

CHRIS
Chet, stop it!

CHET
Bastard!

CHRIS
Knox, are you all right?

CHET
Chris, get the hell away from him!

CHRIS
Chet, you hurt him!

CHET
Good!

KNOX
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

CHRIS
It's okay. It-It's okay.

CHET
Next time I see you, you die.

TINA
Go ahead, pass it around.

MEEKS
Me and Pitts are working on a hi-fi
system. It shouldn't be that hard to,
uh, to put together.

PITTS
Yeah. Uh, I might be going to Yale. Uh,
uh, but, I, I might not.

GLORIA
Don't you guys miss having girls around
here?

MEEKS
Yeah.

CHARLIE
That's part of what this club is about.
In fact, I'd like to announce I
published an article in the school
paper, in the name of the Dead Poets.

CAMERON
What?

CHARLIE
Demanding girls be admitted to Welton.

PITTS
You didn't.

CHARLIE
So we can all stop beating off.

NEIL
How did you do that?

CHARLIE
I'm one of the proofers. I slipped the
article in.

MEEKS
Look, uh, it's, it's over now.

CHARLIE
Why? Nobody knows who we are.

CAMERON
Well, don't you think they're gonna
figure out who wrote it? They're gonna
come to you and ask to know what the
Dead Poets Society is. Charlie, you had
no right to do something like that.

CHARLIE
It's Nuwanda, Cameron.

GLORIA
That's right. It's Nuwanda.

CHARLIE
Are we just playing around out here, or
do we mean what we say? For all we do is
come together and reach a bunch of poems
to each other. What the hell are we
doing?

NEIL
All right, but you still shouldn't have
done it, Charlie. This could mean
trouble. You don't speak for the club.

CHARLIE
Hey, would you not worry about your
precious little neck? If they catch me,
I'll tell them I made it up.

MR. NOLAN
Sit.

MR. NOLAN
In this week of Welton's Honor there
appeared a profane and unauthorized
article. Rather than spend my valuable
time ferreting out the guilty persons --
and let me assure you I will find them -
- I'm asking any and all students who
knows anything about this article to
make themselves known here and now.
Whoever the guilty persons are, this is
your only chance to avoid expulsion from
this school.

CHARLIE
Welton Academy. Hello. Yes, he is. Just
a moment. Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's
God. He says we should have girls at
Welton.

MR. NOLAN
Wipe that smirk off your face. If you
think, Mr. Dalton, that you're the first
to try to get thrown out of this school,
think again. Others have had similar
notions and have failed just as surely
as you will fail. Assume the position.

MR. NOLAN
Count aloud, Mr. Dalton.

CHARLIE
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

MR. NOLAN
What is this Dead Poets Society? I want
names.

NEIL
You kicked out?

CHARLIE
No.

NEIL
So what happened?

CHARLIE
I'm to turn everybody in, apologize to
the school and all will be forgiven.

NEIL
So, what are you gonna do? Charlie!

CHARLIE
Damn it, Neil. The name is Nuwanda.

MR. NOLAN
Excuse me. May we have a word, Mr.
Keating?

KEATING
Certainly.

MR. NOLAN
This was my first classroom, John. Did
you know that? My first desk.

KEATING
Didn't know you taught, Mr. Nolan.

MR. NOLAN
English. Oh, long before your time. It
was hard giving it up, I can tell you.
I'm hearing rumors, John, about some
unorthodox teaching methods in your
classroom. I'm not saying they've
anything to do with the Dalton boy's
outburst. But I don't think I have to
warn you boys his age are very
impressionable.

KEATING
Well, your reprimand made quite an
impression, I'm sure.

MR. NOLAN
What was going on in the courtyard the
other day?

KEATING
Courtyard?

MR. NOLAN
Yeah. Boys marching, clapping in unison.

KEATING
Oh, that. That was an exercise to prove
a point. Dangers of conformity.

MR. NOLAN
Well, John, the curriculum here is set.
It's proven it works. If you question,
what's to prevent them from doing the
same?

KEATING
I always thought the idea of educating
was to learn to think for yourself.

MR. NOLAN
At these boys' ages? Not on your life!
Tradition, John. Discipline. Prepare
them for college, and the rest will take
care of itself.

CHARLIE
Creak. He started walking around towards
my left. Creak. Creak. "Assume the
position, Mr. Dalton."

KEATING
It's all right, gentlemen.

CHARLIE
Mr. Keating.

KEATING
Mr. Dalton. That was a pretty lame stunt
you pulled today.

CHARLIE
You're siding with Mr. Nolan? What about
Carpe diem and sucking all the marrow
out of life and all that?

KEATING
Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't
mean choking on the bone. Sure there's a
time for daring and there's a time for
caution, and a wise man understands
which is called for.

CHARLIE
But I thought you'd like that.

KEATING
No. You being expelled from school is
not daring to me. It's stupid, 'cause
you'll miss some golden opportunities.

CHARLIE
Yeah. Like what?

KEATING
Like, if nothing else, the opportunity
to attend my classes. Got it, Ace?

CHARLIE
Aye, aye, Captain.

KEATING
Keep your head about you. That goes for
the lot of you.

BOYS
Yes, Captain.

KEATING
Phone call from God. If it had been
collect, it wouldn't been daring.

CHARLIE
All right. Go on, play.

DIRECTOR
We're trying to rehearse, okay? Start.

LYSANDER
A good persuasion, therefore hear me,
Hermia.

DIRECTOR
Wait, please. Excitement. I don't hear
any excitement about this play. And take
her hand. Bring her down the stage and
stop. And "There, gentle Hermia." Okay?
Try again.

BOY 1
What's for dinner?

BOY 2
Spaghetti and meatballs!

NEIL
Save some for me. "But, room, Fairy!
Here comes Oberon."

NEIL
Father.

MR. PERRY
Neil.

NEIL
Wait a minute. Before you say anything,
please let me ex-

MR. PERRY
Don't you dare talk back to me! It's bad
enough that you've wasted your time with
this, this absurd acting business. But
you deliberately deceived me! How, how,
how did you expect to get away with
this? Answer me. Who put you up to it?
Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr.
Keating?

NEIL
No. Nobody-- I thought I'd surprise you.
I've gotten all A's in every class.

MR. PERRY
Did you think I wasn't going to find
out? "Oh, my niece is in a play with
your son," says Mrs. Marks. "No, no,
no," I say, "you must be mistaken. My
son's not in a play." You made me a liar
of me, Neil! Now, tomorrow you go to
them and you tell them that you're
quitting.

NEIL
No, I can't. I have the main part. The
performance is tomorrow night.

MR. PERRY
I don't care if the world comes to an
end tomorrow night. You are through with
that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?

NEIL
Yes, sir.

MR. PERRY
I made a great many sacrifices to get
you here, Neil, and you will not let me
down.

NEIL
No, sir.

KEATING
It's open.

KEATING
Neil, what's up?

NEIL
Can I speak to you a minute?

KEATING
Certainly. Sit down.

NEIL
I'm sorry. Here.

KEATING
Excuse me. Get you some tea?

NEIL
Tea. Sure.

KEATING
Like some milk or sugar in that?

NEIL
No, thanks.

NEIL
Gosh, they don't give you much room
around here.

KEATING
No, it's part of the monastic oath. They
don't want worldly things distracting me
from my teaching.

NEIL
She's pretty.

KEATING
She's also in London. Makes it a little
difficult.

NEIL
How can you stand it?

KEATING
Stand what?

NEIL
You can go anywhere. You can do
anything. How can you stand being here?

KEATING
'Cause I love teaching. I don't wanna be
anywhere else.

KEATING
What's up?

NEIL
I just talked to my father. He's making
me quit the play at Henley Hall.
Acting's everything to me. I-- But he
doesn't know. He-- I can see his point.
We're not a rich family like Charlie's,
and we-- But he's planning the rest of
my life for me, and I-- H-He's never
asked me what I want.

KEATING
Have you ever told your father what you
just told me? About your passion for
acting. You ever show him that?

NEIL
I can't.

KEATING
Why not?

NEIL
I can't talk to him this way.

KEATING
Then you're acting for him, too. You're
playing the part of the dutiful son. I
know this sounds impossible, but you
have to talk to him. You have to show
him who you are, what your heart is.

NEIL
I know what he'll say. He'll tell me
that acting's a whim, and I should
forget it. That how they're counting on
me. He'll just tell me to put it out of
my mind, "for my own good."

KEATING
You are not an indentured servant. If
it's not a whim for you, you prove it to
him by your conviction and your passion.
You show him that And if he still
doesn't believe you, well, by then
you'll be out of school and you can do
anything you want.

NEIL
No. What about the play? The show's
tomorrow night.

KEATING
Well, you have to talk to him before
tomorrow night.

NEIL
Isn't there an easier way?

KEATING
No.

NEIL
I'm trapped.

KEATING
No, you're not.

KNOX
Chris!

KNOX
Chris Noel. Do you know where she is?

GIRL
Um, I think she's in room 111.

KNOX
Thanks.

KNOX
Excuse me. Chris.

CHRIS
Knox, what are you doing here?

KNOX
I came to apologize for the other night.
I brought you these and a poem I wrote
for you.

CHRIS
Knox, don't you know that, if Chet finds
you here he'll kill you?

KNOX
I can't care. I love you, Chris.

CHRIS
Knox, you're crazy.

KNOX
Look, I acted like a jerk and I know it.
Please, accept these. Please.

CHRIS
No. No-- I, I can't. Forget it.

CHRIS
Knox, I don't believe this.

KNOX
All I'm asking you to do is listen.
The heavens made a girl named Chris
With hair and skin of gold.
To touch her would be paradise.

CHARLIE
Get out of here. Cameron, you fool. Hey,
how'd it go? Did you read it to her?

KNOX
Yeah.

PITTS
What'd she say?

KNOX
Nothing.

CHARLIE
Nothing. What do you mean, nothing?

KNOX
Nothing. But I did it.

CHARLIE
What did she say? I know she had to say
something.

PITTS
Come here, Knox.

KNOX
Seize the day!

KEATING
Did you talk to your father?

NEIL
Uh, he didn't like it one bit, but at
least he's letting me stay in the play.
He won't be able to make, make it. He's
in Chicago. But, uh, I think he's gonna
let me stay with acting.

KEATING
Really? You told him what you told me?

NEIL
Yeah. He wasn't happy. But he'll be gone
at least four days. I don't think he'll
make the show, but I think he'll let me
stay with it. "Keep up the school work."
Thanks.

PITTS
Beautiful baby.

MEEKS
Beautiful baby. Henley Hall, here I
come.

CAMERON
Excuse me, just a moment. Yes. You're so
cute. Come on, Todd. I'm trying to fix
this.

TODD
Come on, Nuwanda. You're gonna miss
Neil's entrance.

PITTS
He said something about getting red
before we left.

CAMERON
Getting red? What does that mean?

PITTS
I, uh-- Well, you know Charlie.

TODD
So, Charlie, what's this "getting red"
bit?

TODD
W-What is that?

CHARLIE
It's an Indian warrior symbol for
virility. Makes me feel potent, like it
can drive girls crazy.

TODD
Oh, come on, Charlie. The girls are
waiting.

KNOX
Chris.

KNOX
What are you doing here?

KEATING
Gentlemen, let's go.

KNOX
Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up.

CHARLIE
Yeah, come on, guys.

KNOX
Chris, you can't be in here. I-If they
catch you, we're both gonna be in big
trouble.

CHRIS
Oh, but it's fine--

CHRIS
It's fine for you to come barging into
my school and make a complete fool out
of me?

KNOX
I don't mean to make a fool out of you.

CHRIS
Well, you did. Chet found out. And it
took everything I could do to keep him
from coming here and killing you. Knox,
you have got to stop this stuff.

KNOX
I can't, Chris. I love you.

CHRIS
Knox, you say that over and over. You
don't, you don't even know me.

KEATING
Will you be joining us, Mr. Overstreet?

KNOX
Go ahead, Captain. I'll walk.

CHRIS
Knox, Knox, it just so happens that I
could care less about you?

KNOX
Then you wouldn't be here warning me about Chet.

CHRIS
I have to go. I'm gonna be late for the play.

KNOX
Are you going with him?

CHRIS
Chet? To a play? Are you kidding?

KNOX
Then come with me.

CHRIS
Knox, you are so infuriating.

KNOX
Come on, Chris. Just give me one chance. If you don't like me after tonight, I'll stay away forever.

CHRIS
Uh-huh.

KNOX
I promise. Dead Poets Honor. You come with me tonight. And then, if you don't want to see me again, I swear I'll bow out.

CHRIS
You know what would happen if Chet found out?

KNOX
He won't know anything. We'll sit in the back and sneak away as soon as it's over.

CHRIS
And I suppose you would promise that this would be the end of it.

KNOX
Dead Poets Honor.

CHRIS
What is that?

KNOX
My word.

CHRIS
You are so infuriating.

CHARLIE
Hey, there he is! Hey, hey.

KEATING
Shh, boys.

FAIRY
Either I mistake your shape and making
quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish
sprite
Call'd Robin Goodfellow:

PUCK
Thou speak'st aright;
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
And when she drinks, against her lips I
bob
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest
tale,

CHARLIE
He's good. He's really good.

PUCK
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh
me;
Then slip I from her bum, down topples
she,
And "tailor" cries, and falls into a
cough;
And then the whole quire hold their hips
and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth and neeze and
swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.
But, room, Fairy! here comes Oberon.

FAIRY
And here my mistress. Would that he were
gone!

LYSANDER
Then by your side no bed-room me deny;
For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie

HERMIA
Lysander riddles very prettily:
Now much beshrew my manners and my
pride,
If Hermia meant to say Lysander lied.
But, gentle friend, for love and
courtesy
Lie further off; in human modesty,
Such separation as may well be said
Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid,
and, good night, sweet friend:
Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet life
end!

LYSANDER

Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I;

DIRECTOR
Neil. That's your cue, Neil. Come on, Neil. Here's your crown. Let's go.

PUCK
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

CHARLIE
Yawp!

KNOX
Yeah, Neil!

MR. PERRY
Excuse me, I'm Neil's father. I need to see him.

DIRECTOR
Your father. He's-

MAN
What did you think?
WO
MAN
Really I thought you were all just
wonderful!

MR. PERRY
Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.

CHARLIE
Neil, Neil, you were great.

NEIL
I can't, guys.

TODD
Neil! Neil!

KEATING
Neil, Neil. You have the gift. What a performance You left even me speechless. You have to stay with-

MR. PERRY
Get in the car. Keating, you stay away
from my son.

CHARLIE
Neil! Neil! Mr. Perry, come on.

KEATING
Don't make it any worse than it is.

CHARLIE
Is it okay if we walk back? Captain? Knox.

MR. PERRY
We're trying very hard to understand why it is that you insist on defying us. Whatever the reason, we're not gonna let you ruin your life. Tomorrow I'm withdrawing you from Welton and enrolling you in Braden Military School. You're going to Harvard and you're gonna be a doctor.

NEIL
But that's ten more years. Father, that's a lifetime!

MR. PERRY
Oh, stop it. Don't be so dramatic. You make it sound like a prison term. You don't understand, Neil. You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of and I am not going to let you waste them.

NEIL
I've got to tell you what I feel.

MRS. PERRY
We've been so worried about--

MR. PERRY
What? What? Tell me what you feel. What
is it?

MR. PERRY
Is it more of this, this acting business? Because you can forget that.
What?

NEIL
Nothing.

MR. PERRY
Nothing. Well, then, let's go to bed.

NEIL
I was good. I was really good.

MRS. PERRY
Go on, get some sleep.

MR. PERRY
It's all right. It's going to be all
right.

MR. PERRY
What was that?

MRS. PERRY
What?

MR. PERRY
That sound.

MRS. PERRY
What sound? Tom?

MRS. PERRY
What is it? What's wrong?

MR. PERRY
Neil.

MRS. PERRY
Tom, what is it? What's wrong? Neil?

MR. PERRY
Neil?

MRS. PERRY
I'll look outside. Neil?

MR. PERRY
No!

MR. PERRY
Oh, Neil! Oh, my God!

MRS. PERRY
Oh! No!

MR. PERRY
Oh, my son!

MRS. PERRY
He's all right.

MR. PERRY
My son! My poor son!

MRS. PERRY
He's all right! He's all right! He's all right! He's all right! He's all right! He's all right!

MR. PERRY
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it.

CHARLIE
Todd? Todd.

TODD
Oh, Charlie.

TODD
What is it?

CHARLIE
Neil's dead.

TODD
It's so beautiful.

CHARLIE
Todd. It's okay, Todd.

PITTS
Calm down.

CHARLIE
It's all right, Todd.

PITTS
Todd, it's okay. It's okay, Todd.

CHARLIE
It's all right. Now, listen.

TODD
He wouldn't-- He wouldn't have done it.

MEEKS
You can't explain it, Todd.

TODD
It was his father!

CHARLIE
No!

TODD
He wouldn't have left us. If he knew--
He wouldn't have. His dad was-- his, his father did it.

CHARLIE
Todd.

TODD
His father killed him.

MEEKS
You can't explain it, Todd.

MEEKS
Todd!

CHARLIE
Leave him be.

BOYS
All my life
Thy light shall surely follow me
And in God's house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be
Amen

MR. NOLAN
The death of Neil Perry is a tragedy. He was a fine student. One of Welton's best. And he will be missed. We've contacted each of your parents to explain the situation. Naturally, they're all quite concerned. At the request of Neil's family, I intend to conduct a thorough inquiry into this matter. Your complete cooperation is expected.

CHARLIE
You told him about this meeting?

PITTS
Twice.

CHARLIE
That's it, guys. We're all fried.

PITTS
How do you mean?

CHARLIE
Cameron's a fink. He's in Nolan's office right now, finking.

PITTS
About what?

CHARLIE
The club, Pissie. Think about it. The board of directors, the trustees and Mr. Nolan. Do you think for one moment they're gonna let this thing just blow over? Schools go down because of things like this. They need a scapegoat.

CAMERON
What's going on, guys?

CHARLIE
You finked, didn't you, Cameron?

CAMERON
Finked? I didn't know what the hell you're talking about.

CHARLIE
You told Nolan everything about the club is what I'm talking about.

CAMERON
Look, in case you hadn't heard, Dalton, there's something called an honor code at this school, all right? If a teacher asks you a question, you tell the truth or you're expelled.

CHARLIE
You little punk!

MEEKS
Charlie!

CHARLIE
He's a rat! He's in it up to his eyes, so he rattled to save himself.

KNOX
Don't touch him, Charlie. You do and you're out.

CHARLIE
I'm out anyway!

KNOX
You don't know that, not yet.

CAMERON
He's right there, Charlie. And if you guys are smart, you will do exactly what I did and cooperate. They're not after us. We're the victims. Us and Neil.

CHARLIE
What's that mean? Who are they after?

CAMERON
Why, Mr. Keating, of course. The "Captain" himself. I mean, you guys didn't really think he could avoid responsibility, did you?

CHARLIE
Mr. Keating responsible for Neil? Is that what they're saying?

CAMERON
Well, who else do you think, dumb ass? The administration? Mr. Perry? Mr. Keating put us up to all this crap, didn't he? If he wasn't for Mr. Keating, Neil would be cozied up in his room right now, studying his chemistry and dreaming of being called doctor.

TODD
That is not true, Cameron. You know that. He didn't put us to anything. Neil loved acting.

CAMERON
Believe what you want, but I say let Keating fry. I mean, why ruin our lives?

KNOX
Charlie.

CAMERON
You just signed your expulsion papers, Nuwanda.

CAMERON
And if the rest of you are smart, you'll do exactly what I did. They know everything anyway. You can't save Keating, but you can save yourselves.

HABER
Knox Overstreet.

TODD
Meeks?

MEEKS
Go away. I have to study.

TODD
What happened to Nuwanda?

MEEKS
Expelled.

TODD
What'd you tell 'em?

MEEKS
Nothing they didn't already know.

HABER
Todd Anderson.

MR. ANDERSON
Hello, son.

MRS. ANDERSON
Hello, darling.

TODD
Mom.

MR. NOLAN
Have a seat, Mr. Anderson.

MR. NOLAN
Mr. Anderson, I think we've pretty well put together what's happened here. You do admit to being a part of this Dead Poets Society?

MR. ANDERSON
Answer him, Todd.

TODD
Yes, sir.

MR. NOLAN
I have here a detailed description of what occurred at your meetings. It describes how your teacher, Mr. Keating, encouraged you boys to organize this club and to use it as a source of inspiration for reckless and self- indulgent behavior. It describes how Mr. Keating, both in and out of the classroom, encouraged Neil Perry to follow his obsession with acting when he knew all along it was against the explicit order of Neil's parents. It was Mr. Keating's blatant abuse of his position as teacher that led directly to Neil Perry's death.

MR. NOLAN
Read that document carefully, Todd. Very carefully.

MR. NOLAN
If you've nothing to add or amend, sign it.

TODD
What's gonna happen to Mr. Keating?

MR. ANDERSON
I've had enough. Sign the paper, Todd.

McALLISTER
Grass is gramen or herba. Lapis is stone. The entire building is aedificium.

MR. NOLAN
Sit. I'll be teaching this class through exams. We'll find a permanent English teacher during the break. Who will tell me where you are in the Pritchard textbook?

MR. NOLAN
Mr. Anderson.

TODD
Uh, in the, in the Pr-

MR. NOLAN
I can't hear you, Mr. Anderson.

TODD
In the, in the, in the Pritchard?

MR. NOLAN
Kindly inform me, Mr. Cameron.

CAMERON
We skipped around a lot, sir. We covered the Romantics and some of the chapters on Post Civil War literature.

MR. NOLAN
What about the Realists?

CAMERON
I believe we skipped most of that, sir.

MR. NOLAN
All right, then, we'll start over. What
is poetry?

MR. NOLAN
Come.

KEATING
Excuse me. I came for my personals. Should I come back after class?

MR. NOLAN
Get them now, Mr. Keating.

MR. NOLAN
Gentlemen, turn to page 21 of the introduction. Mr. Cameron, read aloud the excellent essay by Dr. Pritchard on "Understanding Poetry."

CAMERON
That page has been ripped out, sir.

MR. NOLAN
Well, borrow somebody else's book.

CAMERON
They're all ripped out, sir.

MR. NOLAN
What do you mean, they're all ripped out?

CAMERON
Sir, we, uh-

MR. NOLAN
Never mind.

MR. NOLAN
Read!

CAMERON
"Understanding Poetry by Dr. J Evans Pritchard, Ph.D. To fully understand poetry, we must first be fluent with its meter, rhyme and figures of speech, then ask two questions: 1) How artfully has the objective of the poem been rendered and 2)..."

CAMERON
... How important is that objective? Question 1 rates the poem's perfection; question 2 rates its importance. And once these questions have been answered, determining the poem's greatness becomes a relatively simple matter. If the poem's score for perfection is plotted on the horizontal of a graph--

TODD
Mr. Keating! They made everybody sign it.

MR. NOLAN
Quiet, Mr. Anderson.

TODD
You gotta believe me. It's true.

KEATING
I do believe you, Todd.

MR. NOLAN
Leave, Mr. Keating.

TODD
But it wasn't his fault!

MR. NOLAN
Sit down, Mr. Anderson! One more outburst from you or anyone else, and you're out of this school! Leave, Mr. Keating. I said leave, Mr. Keating.

TODD
O Captain! My Captain!

MR. NOLAN
Sit down, Mr. Anderson!

MR. NOLAN
Do you hear me? Sit down! Sit down! This is your final warning, Anderson. How dare you? Do you hear me?

KNOX
O Captain! My Captain!

MR. NOLAN
Mr. Overstreet, I warn you! Sit down!

MR. NOLAN
Sit down! Sit down. All of you. I want you seated. Sit down. Leave, Mr. Keating.

MR. NOLAN
All of you, down. I want you seated. Do you hear me?

MR. NOLAN
Sit down!

KEATING
Thank you, boys. Thank you.