Dead Poets Society Quotes

Dead Poets Society is a television program that appeared on TV in 1970 . Dead Poets Society ended its run in 1970.

It features Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas as producer, Maurice Jarre in charge of musical score, and John Seale as head of cinematography.

Dead Poets Society is recorded in English and originally aired in United States. Each episode of Dead Poets Society is 128 minutes long. Dead Poets Society is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

The cast includes: Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson, Leon Pownall as McAllister, Robin Williams as John Keating, Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry, Gale Hansen as Charlie Dalton, Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet, Gale Hansen as Dalton, Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks, Kurtwood Smith as Mr. Perry, Kurtwood Smith as Mrs. Perry, James Waterston as Gerard Pitts, George Martin as Dr. Hagar, Alexandra Powers as Chris Noel, Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron, James Waterston as Pitts, and Norman Lloyd as Nolan.

Dead Poets Society Quotes

Robin Williams as John Keating

• (Robin Williams) "Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone."

• (Robin Williams) "There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for."

• (Robin Williams) "We're not laughing at you. We're laughing near you."

• (Robin Williams) "Why do I stand up here? Anybody?"
• (Gale Hansen) "To feel taller."
• (Robin Williams) "No."
• (Robin Williams) "Thank you for playing, Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way."

• (Robin Williams) "This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls."

• (Robin Williams) "Mr. Pitts, would you open your hymnal to page 542 and read the first stanza of the poem you find there."
• (James Waterston) ""To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"?"
• (Robin Williams) "Yes, that's the one. Somewhat appropriate, isn't it?"

• (Robin Williams) "O Captain, my Captain. Who knows where that comes from? Anybody? Not a clue? It's from a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you're slightly more daring, O Captain my Captain."

• (Robin Williams) "I was the intellectual equivalent of a 98-pound weakling. I would go to the beach and people would kick copies of Byron in my face."

• (Robin Williams) "Carpe diem, seize the day. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may."

• (Robin Williams) "Now, don't just walk off the edge like lemmings. Look around you."

• (Robin Williams) "Mr. Anderson. Don't think that I don't know that this assignment scares the hell out of you, you mole."

• (Robin Williams) "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."

• (Robin Williams) "Phone call from God. If it had been collect, that would have been daring."

• (Robin Williams) "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. Listen. You hear it? -- Carpe -- Hear it? -- Carpe. Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

• (Robin Williams) "Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is -- Mr. Anderson? Come on, are you a man or an amoeba?"
• (Robin Williams) "Mr. Perry?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "To communicate."
• (Robin Williams) "No. To woo women."

• (Robin Williams) "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.""

• (Robin Williams) "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 questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless -- of cities filled 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. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

• (Robin Williams) "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."

• (Hopkins) ""The cat sat on the mat"."
• (Robin Williams) "Congratulations, Mr. Hopkins. You have the first poem to ever have a negative score on the Pritchard scale."

Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I was good. I was really good."

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "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."

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "You're in the club. Being in the club means being stirred up by things. You look about as stirred up as a cesspool."

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "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. We- But he's planning the rest of my life for me, and I- He's never asked me what I want."
• (Robin Williams) "Have you ever told your father what you just told me? About your passion for acting? You ever showed him that?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I can't."
• (Robin Williams) "Why not?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I can't talk to him this way."
• (Robin Williams) "Then you're acting for him, too. You're playing the part of the dutiful son. Now, I know this sounds impossible, but you have to talk to him. You have to show him who you are, what your heart is."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I know what he'll say. He'll tell me that acting's a whim and I should forget it. They're counting on me; he'll just tell me to put it out of my mind for my own good."
• (Robin Williams) "You are not an indentured servant. It's not a whim for you, you prove it to him by your conviction and your passion. You show that to him, and if he still doesn't believe you; well, by then, you'll be out of school and can do anything you want."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "No. What about the play? The show's tomorrow night."
• (Robin Williams) "Then you have to talk to him before tomorrow night."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "Isn't there an easier way?"
• (Robin Williams) "No."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I'm trapped."
• (Robin Williams) "No, you're not."

• (Robert Sean Leonard) ""I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.""
• (Gale Hansen) "I'll second that."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) ""To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.""

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "If I don't ask him, at least I won't be disobeying him."

• (Robert Sean Leonard) "So what are you going to do? Charlie?"
• (Gale Hansen) "Dammit, Neil, the name is Nuwanda."

George Martin as Dr. Hagar

• (George Martin) "That wouldn't be a radio in your lap, would it, Mr. Pitts?"
• (James Waterston) "No, sir, science experiment -- Radar."

Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson

• (Ethan Hawke) "Keating said that everybody took turns reading and I don't wanna do that."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "Gosh, you really have a problem with that, don't you?"
• (Ethan Hawke) "N-No, I don't have a problem, Neil. I just -- I don't wanna do it, okay?"

• (Ethan Hawke) "Oh captain, my captain."

• (Ethan Hawke) "Mr. Keating. They made everybody sign it."
• (Mr. Nolan) "Quiet, Mr. Anderson."
• (Ethan Hawke) "You gotta believe me. It's true."
• (Robin Williams) "I do believe you, Todd."
• (Mr. Nolan) "Leave, Mr. Keating."
• (Ethan Hawke) "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."

• (Ethan Hawke) "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?"
• (Josh Charles) "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. All of you, down. I want you seated. Do you hear me? Sit down."
• (Robin Williams) "Thank you, boys. Thank you."

• (Ethan Hawke) "You want me out? Fine, I'm out."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "No, I want you in, but being in means you have to do something. Not just saying you're in."

• (Ethan Hawke) "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?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "No."
• (Ethan Hawke) "What do you mean 'no'?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "No."

Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet

• (Josh Charles) "C'mon, Chris, just give me one chance. If you don't like me after tonight I'll stay away forever."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Uh-huh."
• (Josh Charles) "I promise. Dead Poets Honor. You come with me tonight and then if you don't wanna see me again I swear I'll bow out."
• (Alexandra Powers) "You know what would happen if Chet found out?"
• (Josh Charles) "He won't know anything. We'll sit in the back and sneak away as soon as it's over."
• (Alexandra Powers) "And I suppose you would promise that this would be the end of it."
• (Josh Charles) "Dead Poets Honor."
• (Alexandra Powers) "What is that?"
• (Josh Charles) "My word."

• (Josh Charles) "The point, Charlie -- is -- that she was thinking about me. I've only met her once, and already she's thinking about me."

• (Josh Charles) "Chris, you can't be in here. If they catch you, we're both gonna be in big trouble."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Oh, but it's fine --"
• (Josh Charles) "Shh, sh, Chris --"
• (Alexandra Powers) "Oh, but it's fine for you to come barging into my school and make a complete fool out of me?"
• (Josh Charles) "I didn't mean to make a fool out of you."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Well, you did; Chet found out, and it took everything I could do to keep him from coming out here and killing you. Knox, you have got to stop this stuff."
• (Josh Charles) "I can't, Chris; I love you."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Knox, you say that over and over; you don't; you don't even know me."
• (Robin Williams) "Will you be joining us, Mr. Overstreet?"
• (Josh Charles) "Go ahead, Captain, I'll walk."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Knox, Knox, it just so happens that I could care less about you."
• (Josh Charles) "Then you wouldn't be here warning me about Chet."
• (Alexandra Powers) "I have to go; I'll be late for the play."
• (Josh Charles) "Are you going with him?"
• (Alexandra Powers) "Chet, to a play? Are you kidding?"
• (Josh Charles) "Then come with me."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Knox, you are so infuriating."
• (Josh Charles) "Come on, Chris, just give me one chance. If you don't like me after tonight, I'll stay away forever."
• (Alexandra Powers) "Uh huh."
• (Josh Charles) "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."
• (Alexandra Powers) "You know what would happen if Chet found out?"
• (Josh Charles) "He won't know anything. We'll sit in the back and sneak away as soon as it's over."
• (Alexandra Powers) "And I suppose you would promise that this would be the end of it --"
• (Josh Charles) "Dead Poets' Honor."
• (Alexandra Powers) "What is that?"
• (Josh Charles) "My word."

Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron

• (Dylan Kussman) "Hey Neal, business as usual huh? I heard you got the new kid. He looks like a stiff."
• (Dylan Kussman) "Oops."

• (Dylan Kussman) "You can't save Keating, but you can save yourselves."

Gale Hansen as Charlie Dalton

• (Gale Hansen) "It'll help you get Chris."
• (Josh Charles) "Yeah? How?"
• (Gale Hansen) "Women swoon."
• (Josh Charles) "But why do they swoon?"
• (Josh Charles) "Charlie, tell me why they swoon."

• (Gale Hansen) "I'm exercising the right not to walk."

Norman Lloyd as Nolan

• (Norman Lloyd) "Gentlemen, what are the Four Pillars?"
• (Unnamed) "Tradition. Honor. Discipline. Excellence."

Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks

• (Allelon Ruggiero) "I'll try anything once."
• (Gale Hansen) "Except sex."

Leon Pownall as McAllister

• (Leon Pownall) ""Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man.""
• (Robin Williams) ""But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.""
• (Leon Pownall) "Tennyson?"
• (Robin Williams) "No, Keating."

James Waterston as Gerard Pitts

• (James Waterston) "Too bad."
• (Josh Charles) "It's worse than "too bad," Pittsie. It's a tragedy. A girl this beautiful in love with such a jerk."
• (James Waterston) "All the good ones go for jerks. You know that."

• (Gloria) "Don't you guys miss having girls around here?"
• (James Waterston) "Yeah."

Kurtwood Smith as Mr. Perry

• (Kurtwood Smith) "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 Braighton Military School. You're going to Harvard, and you're gonna be a doctor."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "But, that's ten more years. Father, that's a lifetime."
• (Kurtwood Smith) "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."
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "I've got to tell you what I feel."
• (Kurtwood Smith) "We've been so worried about you."
• (Kurtwood Smith) "What ? What? Tell me what you feel. What is it? Is it more of this, this acting business? Because you can forget that. What?"
• (Robert Sean Leonard) "Nothing."
• (Kurtwood Smith) "Nothing? Well, then, let's go to bed."

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