The film, starring Robin Williams , is set in at a fictional elite boarding school called Welton Academy, [ 4 ] and tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. The film was a critical and commercial success. In , Todd Anderson begins his junior year of high school at Welton Academy, an Episcopalian all-male preparatory boarding school in Vermont. On the first day of classes, the boys are taken aback by the unusual teaching methods of their new English teacher, John Keating.
A Welton alumnus who studied English Literature at Cambridge , Keating encourages his students to "seize the day", referencing the Latin expression carpe diem. Keating has the students take turns standing on his desk to demonstrate ways to look at life differently, tells them to rip out the introduction of their poetry books that explains a mathematical formula for rating poetry, and invites them to make up their own style of walking in a courtyard to encourage their individualism.
Keating's methods attract the attention of strict headmaster Gale Nolan. Upon learning that Keating had been a member of the unofficial Dead Poets Society during his time as a student at Welton, Neil restarts the club, and he and his friends sneak off campus to a cave, where they read poetry.
Keating's lessons and their involvement with the club encourage them to live their lives on their own terms. Knox pursues Chris Noel, a cheerleader who is dating Chet Danburry, a football player from a local public school, and whose family is friends with his.
Neil discovers his love of acting, and gets the role of Puck in a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream , despite the disapproval of his controlling father, who wants him to attend Harvard to study medicine.
