Since the beginning of time man has wrestled with the question of whether or not it is more courageous, whether or not it is nobler to keep oneself reserved by being obedient to the laws and people around him or by instead disregarding rules and laws and doing whatever pleases oneself. The poem "What Are Years?" by Marianne Moore demonstrates the former while the message related by the film Dead Poets Society represents the latter, asking people to make the most of life, or in other words we must Carpe Diem . . . Seize the Day. Despite being of two different minds on the subject, the messages of "What Are Years?" and Dead Poets Society have surprisingly a lot in common. These similarities are demonstrated through different parts of the poem being portrayed by different characters in the movie.
In the first stanza of "What Are Years?" Moore describes the person who possesses courage as the one who pushes ahead during a challenge despite being faced with an "unanswered question or a resolute doubt," thereby eventually conquering that challenge and "in its defeat, stirs the soul to be strong."
Grant Moore and Alex Groetaers shake hands on tenn...
Sen. Moore of Penn. speaking at reunion - Bloody A...
Marianne Moore, 13 November 1948Practically all the boys in Dead Poets Society exemplify and demonstrate this behavior. Each boy showed some amount of courage by having the gall to join the club in the first place, despite the undoubted possibility that the Headmaster Mr. Nolan would not approve. Mr. Keating declares that "There's a time for daring and a time for caution- a wise man understands which is called for," when he is speaking to Charlie Dalton. This is the exact meaning of Moore's poem. A person can and should take a chance, should be adventurous, should Carpe Diem . . . Seize the Day. That is, until the boy begins endangering him and...