Bobby “Iceman” Drake :
Mom… Dad…
This is….
one of My Teachers,
from School.
Professor Logan.
Mrs. Drake :
Err, what exactly do you teach…?
Wolverine :
Poetry.
Understanding Poetry
by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D.
“To fully understand poetry,
we must first be fluent with its
meter, rhyme and figures of speech, then
ask two questions: 1) How artfully has
the objective of the poem been rendered
and 2) How important is that objective?
Question 1 rates the poem's perfection;
question 2 rates its importance. And
once these questions have been answered,
determining the poem's greatness becomes
a relatively simple matter."
NEIL
"If the poem's score for perfection is
plotted on the horizontal of a graph and
its importance is plotted on the
vertical, then calculating the total
area of the poem yields the measure of
its greatness."
NEIL
"A sonnet by Byron might score high on
the vertical but only average on the
horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on
the other hand, would score high both
horizontally and vertically, yielding a
massive total area, thereby revealing
the poem to be truly great. As you
proceed through the poetry in this book,
practice this rating method. As your
ability to evaluate poems in this matter
grows, so will, so will your enjoyment
and understanding of poetry."
KEATING
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?
"Oh, I like Byron. I’d give him a 42, but
I can't dance to it."
Now, I want you to
rip out that page.
KEATING
Go on. Rip out the entire page. You
heard me. Rip it out. Rip it out! Go on.
Rip it out!
KEATING
Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Gentlemen, tell
you what. Don't just tear out that page,
tear out the entire introduction. I want
it gone. History. Leave nothing of it.
Rip it out! Rip! Be gone, J. Evans
Pritchard, Ph.D. Rip. Shred. Tear. Rip
it out! I want to hear nothing but
ripping of Mr. Pritchard. We'll
perforate it, put it on a roll. It's not
the Bible. You're not gonna go to hell
for this.
KEATING
Go on. Make a clean tear. I want nothing
left of it.
CAMERON
We shouldn't be doing this.
KEATING
Rip! Rip! Rip! Rip it out! Rip!
KEATING
Rip it out!
McALLISTER
What the hell is going on here?
KEATING
I don't hear enough rips!
McALLISTER
Mr. Keating.
KEATING
Mr. McAllister.
McALLISTER
I'm sorry. I, I didn't know you were
here.
KEATING
I am. Ah.
McALLISTER
So you are. Excuse me.
KEATING
Keep ripping, gentlemen! This is a
battle. A war. And the casualties could
be your hearts and souls. Thank you,
Dalton. Armies of academics going
forward, measuring poetry. No! We'll not
have that here. No more Mr. J. Evans
Pritchard. Now, my class, you will learn
to think for yourselves again. You will
learn to savor words and language. No
matter what anybody tells you, words and
ideas can change the world. Now I see
that look in Mr. Pitts' eye, like 19th-
century literature has nothing to do
with going to business school or medical
school. Right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you
may agree with him, thinking, "Yes, we
should simply study our Mr. Pritchard
and learn our rhyme and meter and go
quietly about the business of achieving
other ambitions." I've a little secret
for you. Huddle up. Huddle up!
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. To quote
from Whitman
O me! O life! of the question of these
recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities fill'd 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.
KEATING
"That the powerful play goes on, and you
may contribute a verse." What will your
verse be?
BOYS
For what we are about to receive, may
the Lord make us truly grateful. Amen.
McALLISTER
Quite an interesting class you gave
today, Mr. Keating.
KEATING
Sorry if I shocked you, Mr. McAllister.
McALLISTER
Oh, there's no need to apologize. It was
very fascinated, misguided though it
was.
KEATING
You think so?
McALLISTER
You take a big risk by encouraging them
to become artists, John. When they
realize that they're not Rembrandts,
Shakespeares or Mozarts, they'll hate
you for it.
KEATING
We're not talking artist, George. We're
talking free thinkers.
McALLISTER
Free thinkers at seventeen?
KEATING
Funny. I never pegged you as a cynic.
McALLISTER
Not a cynic. A realist. "Show me the
heart unfettered by foolish dreams and
I'll show you a happy man."
KEATING
"But only in their dreams can men be
truly free. 'Twas always thus, and
always thus will be."
McALLISTER
Tennyson?
KEATING
No. Keating.
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