Going into this movie, I thought it would just be another Friday night, another movie, another’s everything, but it left me shattered and confused. Now don’t take this as a bad thing because Dead Poets Society is thoughtful and eloquent. If you have ever hated poetry anytime in your life, then this movie is for you.

The movie follows a group of high school juniors at their private all-boys school, Welton Academy. All their classes are filled with boring lectures and even more boring homework, but when they get to English class, they are met by a new teacher, John Keating (played by Robin Williams). He immediately is different from any teachers they have had beforehand. Keating starts to teach them to fall in love with English class, specifically poetry.

Through John Keating, the students learn about what poetry is really about, including starting their own club, “The Dead Poet’s Society”. Within this club they discover the complexity of poetry, each almost focusing on their own vision within it.  Whether that is love or sadness or peace or triumph. Poetry taught them how to feel. This movie not only makes the students fall in love with poetry, it also makes you fall in love with it at the same time.

Not only did I fall in love with the poetry though, I fell in love with the characters and their inner being and selves. This movie not only helped me understand my emotions, it also helped me understand the complexity of what every single other person goes through in a given day. I can’t recommend this movie enough, but tread lightly because it is not for the faint of heart.