- Feb 5, 2002
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“Carpe Diem” doesn’t actually mean “seize the day.” The fact that we understand it that way suggests we are more traditional than we like to admit.
This year is the thirtieth anniversary of a certain influential movie that popularized standing on desks as a legitimate teaching aid for many an earnest educator—even presidential candidates have gotten the memo—and catapulted an obscure phrase from a long dead language into the public consciousness and mainstream popular culture.
That film is, of course, Dead Poets Society. The phrase is “carpe diem,” taken from Roman poet Horace’s Odes, written over 2,000 years ago. As everyone and their grandmother knows by now, “carpe diem” means “seize the day.” “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary,” encourages Robin Williams in the role of textbook-ripping English teacher John Keating. (Oddly enough, three years earlier Williams had starred in a film called “Seize the Day,” so I suppose he was pretty serious about getting this message out there). The phrase, and its accompanying philosophy, has gone on to inspire countless people in how they live their lives. Striking while the iron is hot and taking the bull by the horns (as we may say in more well-worn fashion), even the formidable Dame Judi Dench got the motto tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday. It’s an enduring thought that, perhaps, motivates us to see the world a little differently from the norm.
Continued below.
How "Carpe Diem" Got Lost in Translation | JSTOR Daily
This year is the thirtieth anniversary of a certain influential movie that popularized standing on desks as a legitimate teaching aid for many an earnest educator—even presidential candidates have gotten the memo—and catapulted an obscure phrase from a long dead language into the public consciousness and mainstream popular culture.
That film is, of course, Dead Poets Society. The phrase is “carpe diem,” taken from Roman poet Horace’s Odes, written over 2,000 years ago. As everyone and their grandmother knows by now, “carpe diem” means “seize the day.” “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary,” encourages Robin Williams in the role of textbook-ripping English teacher John Keating. (Oddly enough, three years earlier Williams had starred in a film called “Seize the Day,” so I suppose he was pretty serious about getting this message out there). The phrase, and its accompanying philosophy, has gone on to inspire countless people in how they live their lives. Striking while the iron is hot and taking the bull by the horns (as we may say in more well-worn fashion), even the formidable Dame Judi Dench got the motto tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday. It’s an enduring thought that, perhaps, motivates us to see the world a little differently from the norm.
Continued below.
How "Carpe Diem" Got Lost in Translation | JSTOR Daily
