There is a scene, early in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society, where the new English teacher at the Welton Academy prep school, John Keating, has one of his students read aloud from a 17th-century Robert Herrick poem. The stanza reads:
Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to day,
To morrow will be dying.
Keating and his class are standing in a hallway, beside the school’s trophy case. Old team photographs of long-ago academy sports teams are hung inside the case, the students from a different time staring out at the onlookers, their expressions locked in place across the chasm of decades.
Keating asks his class what the verse means. What was Herrick getting at? “Carpe diem,” he tells them. “Seize the day.” But why? Why “seize the day”?
“Because we are food for worms, lads,” Keating goes on. “Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room, will, one day, stop breathing. We’ll die.”
Here, Keating asks the students to step forward to look at the photographs of the old sports teams.
“They’re not that different from you, are they?” Keating says to his class. “Same haircuts. . . . Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they are destined for great things, just like many of you do. . . . But you see . . . these boys are now fertilizing daffodils.”
Keating then has them lean in close, tells them to listen, listen to the voices, the murmurs of the ghosts before them. Do they hear it? Keating whispers in a voice meant to sound like the grave: “Carpe . . . diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”
This scene is memorable for many reasons, not the least of which is the remarkable performance of Robin Williams, who plays Keating. But what of the message? What of carpe diem? Is it wise counsel?
As with anything, if misunderstood or taken to the extreme, it can harm more than help. After all, I may want to “seize the day” by climbing Mount Everest, even though I have no training and no preparation. Or I may want to drop everything and experience life to the full by walking across America, leaving all my responsibilities and cares behind me. That might feel good in the moment, but doubtful it would lead anywhere beneficial.
What, then, is carpe diem, and how should we apply it? How about with writing or creativity? Is there a literary version of carpe diem? And if so, what does it look like?
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to anything creative–a story idea, a scene from a novel, an inspiration–I cannot force things. If I say, “I want to write a short story today,” but have no workable idea to write about, try as I may, I won’t produce anything of value.
On the other hand, my best ideas always come unasked for, unplanned. I can be doing anything–mowing the lawn, taking a walk, lying in bed–and boom! It hits. Where does it come from? We may never know. But it comes. And it comes in its time and its choosing. What to do then?
Carpe diem, of course! It’s not every day an inspired idea strikes. Whether it’s a novel idea, a short story, a poem, a song . . . it doesn’t matter. When that idea strikes, in the white-hot fire of the creative epiphany, that is the time to act.
If it’s a poem, write it. Right then and there, if possible. Same with a song. If it’s a short story, maybe jot a few notes if you can’t write it immediately. Capture the details lest you forget them, and then, at the first opportunity, write the story. If it’s a novel, again, jot down plot points, character traits, perhaps even make an outline. However you work, whatever preparations you need to do before undertaking a long-form creative endeavor . . . do what you must. And then begin writing the actual novel as soon as you can.
Because . . . why wait? Why wait and allow apathy or indifference to seep into the picture? Carpe diem. Seize the literary day! Take advantage of that gift–that new idea–while it’s fresh and you are fired up.
Write. Create. Make your words sing.
And make your (literary) life extraordinary.
Thanks so much for reading!
–Mike
Eye-Dancers 