Carpe Diem Essay

Seizing the day has a profound meaning behind it, in Latin it is known as Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem refers to having no fear to do something, taking chances and risks. In the movie â€Å"The Dead Poets Society† a character named Knox has a crush on a girl, while she was already dating another guy. Knox was trying to seize the day by trying to spend time with her. There are many more examples of carpe diem in this exceptional movie, but this I feel is the most pertinent. Many of the poems that we read in class were also related to the live life like it is the last. The movie and the other poems are key in explaining what carpe diem really means. â€Å"The Dead Poets Society† is a great example of seizing the day. Knox taking risks, asking a football player’s girlfriend on a date shows that he has no fear. He had no fear of the consequences that would probably occur if he was ever caught. In another example of the movie, a character Neil defied his father by going into acting. Neil’s father told him that he did not want Neil to go into acting, and become a doctor. Neil went against his father, and was the lead in a play. Neil seized the day by doing the play, and hope that his father would find forgiveness in him. These examples from â€Å"The Dead Poets Society† are great examples of what carpe diem signifies. Another example of carpe diem is the great number of poems that we read in class. These poems also stated the same as the movie and that was to live life to the fullest as soon as possible. The poem such as â€Å"O captain, my captain† by Walt Whitman expressed carpe diem, which is why it was a major part of the movie â€Å"The Dead Poets Society†. This poem was related to Lincoln and the civil war, about taking chances and to seize the day. Other poems stressed that we are not on this earth forever and time is going by fast, so now is the time to seize the day. Poems that we read stressed the meaning of carpe diem, especially the poem by Walt Whitman. These examples of the poems that we read in class, and the examples that came out of the movie are great examples of what seizing the day really means. The example of Knox having no fear whatsoever by dating another guy’s girlfriend, shows that he is taking chances and wants to seize the day before it is too late. The poems we read such as â€Å"o captain, my captain† also show seizing the day as well. So overall carpe diem refers to do not wait until it is too late, if there is an opportunity take it and seize day no matter what the risks or consequences.