Dead Poets Society quotes

View Quote ...stroll down amnesia lane...

View Quote "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. You gotta get in "yawping" stance.

View Quote [Quoting Henry David Thoreau] I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

View Quote Knox: She's gonna hate me. The Danburrys will hate me. My parents will kill me. All right, goddamn it. You're right. "Carpe diem." Even if it kills me.

View Quote 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.

View Quote 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.

View Quote 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.
Mr. Nolan: I said leave, Mr. Keating.
[Todd stands on his desk]
Todd: O Captain! My Captain!
Mr. Nolan: Sit down, Mr. Anderson! Do you hear me? Sit down! Sit down! This is your final warning, Anderson. How dare you! Do you hear me?
[Knox stands on his desk and other students slowly start to follow]
Knox: O Captain! My Captain!
Mr. Nolan: Mr. Overstreet, I warn you! Sit down! Sit down! Sit down. All of you. I want you seated. Sit down. Leave, Mr. Keating. All of you, down. I want you seated. Do you hear me? Sit down!
Keating: Thank you, boys. Thank you.

View Quote 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. [writes "I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world." W. W. on the chalkboard] 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. You gotta get in "yawping" stance.
Todd: A yawp?
Keating: No, not just a yawp. A barbaric yawp.
Todd: [quietly] Yawp.
Keating: Come on, louder.
Todd: [quietly] Yawp.
Keating: No, that's a mouse. Come on. Louder.
Todd: Yawp.
Keating: Oh, good God, boy. Yell like a man!
Todd: [shouting] Yawp!
Keating: There it is. You see, you have a barbarian in you, after all. Now, you don't get away that easy. The picture of Uncle Walt up there. What does he remind you of? [Tod hesitates] Don't think. Answer. Go on.
Todd: A m-m-madman.
Keating: What kind of madman? [Tod hesitates again] 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 only 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."
[Class laughs]
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.
[the class claps because of his excellent poem]
Keating: [whispering to Todd] Don't you forget this.

View Quote "Dogs, sir? Oh, not just now. I do enjoy a good dog once in awhile, 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 paw."

View Quote No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.

View Quote There is a time for daring and a time for caution, and a wise man knows which is called for.

View Quote [talking about the people in the old awards pictures] 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, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. [the students lean in] Listen, you hear it? [whispers in a raspy voice] - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary. Note: the bolded portion is ranked #95 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema.

View Quote 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!

View Quote [after hearing "The Introduction to Poetry"] 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? "I like Byron, I give him a 42 but I can't dance to it!"

View Quote This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.