John 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 neces...
McAllister: "Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man." John Keating: "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be." McAllister: Tennyson? John Keating: No, Keating.
John Keating: No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.
John Keating: There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.
Todd Anderson: [standing on his desk] Oh captain, my captain.
Neil: [quoting Henry David Thoreau] "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." Dalton: I'll second that. Neil: "To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had com...
John Keating: They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes ...
John Keating: Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!
Todd Anderson: [last lines] Todd Anderson: [stands up on his desk] O Captain! My Captain! Nolan: Sit down, Mr. Anderson! Do you hear me? Sit down! Sit down! This is your final warning, Anderson. How dare you? Do you hear me? Knox: [climbs up onto his...
John Keating: Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, [imitating a goat] John Keating: "that's baaaaad." ...
John Keating: Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone.
Dalton: [answering phone] Welton Academy, hello. Yes he is, just a moment. Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.
John Keating: O Captain, my Captain. Who knows where that comes from? Anybody? Not a clue? It's from a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you're slightly more daring, O Captain ...
John Keating: [the class hesitates to rip out the introduction page] It's not the Bible, you're not gonna go to Hell for this.
[Keating stands on his desk] John Keating: Why do I stand up here? Anybody? Dalton: To feel taller! John Keating: No! [Dings a bell with his foot] John Keating: Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must cons...
John Keating: We're not laughing at you - we're laughing near you.
John Keating: This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.
John Keating: Phone call from God. If it had been collect, that would have been daring!
