The film, Dead Poets Society, stars Robin Williams as Mr Keating and Robert Sean Leonard as Neil. Romanticism is an emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, the departure from the forms of classicism, and rebellion against conventional social rules and principles. .
Mr Keating is a teacher in a boarding school, in which the rich boys of society attend. There are very strict rules and the boys are believed to be at school to become men and then, and only then will they have the proper mindset to think for themselves. This shows the time period of the film, as in present times boys are expected to know themselves at a much younger age and are better able to express themselves, even in such restricted settings. In Mr Keating's class, there are a group of boys who start a club called the Dead Poets Society, which was inspired by Mr Keating himself. Mr Keating refers to the members of the DPS as romantics; those that allow their imagination run wild and express their individuality. .
Mr Keating's lessons highlight the over all message of the film. For example, in his first lesson about "carpe diem", he tells the students about how everyone is going to die one day and how they should "make their lives extraordinary". Again, he tells the students to rip out the introduction to their books, telling them that poetry itself cannot be measured by any other means than individual opinion. He tells them to stand on their desks so that they can see things from a different perspective. He tells them how to not conform and how they all need their own voice with his lesson in the courtyard.
A quote from 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.
