Dead Poets Society Chapter 5

“That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse”

1. Find the equivalent word in Danish for the following:

Physical Education	Idrætsskole
Edge	Kant
Study Group	Studiegruppe
Astonishment	Forbløffelse

2. Questions:

Who are the Danburrys? Knox Father’s friends, who are quite old. They are also parents to Chris, who Knox later on falls in love with.

How is Physical Education at Welton in comparaison to Denmark? først beskrive hvad der sker i bogen og bagefter sammenlign med Danmark

Physical education is very hard. Just having to run around in a large circle and after each lap, the had to check their puls. That was very hard, almost like military academy.

In Denmark, it is not that hard, the gym teacher often participates in the activities.

What is “A Midsummer Night´s Dream”?  “A midsummer night’s dream” is a play written by Shakespear. Neil goes to tryouts for the leading part and ends up getting it. Neil’s biggest dream is to become an actor, and Mr. Keating is giving him the opportunity to do that in “A midsummer night’s dream”. Unfortunately, his father is against acting, and wants Neil to become a docter. He chose to disobey his dad and go for the play anyway. He also writes a letter on his typewriter to Nolan, the principal as if it is his father, which later on gets him in trouble.

 3. Expressions:

Find an equivalent expression in Danish to describe the following:

“A penny for your thoughts” We don’t have a an equivalent expression in Danish, but we would translate it to “Bare jeg kunne læse dine tanker”

We think thoughts are valuable, and sometimes it would be amazing to read someone’s mind, so that is why they say ‘’a penny for your thoughts’’.

 4. Poetry:

- Make a graph that shows J. Evan Pritchard´s measures for understanding and valuating poetry

 - Why is it rubbish according to Mr. Keating? Mr. Keating thinks that J. Evan Pritchard is “disgraceful” and because of that, he demands the pupils to rip the pages out.

- What is your opinion on the poem on page 41, “O me! O life!” by Walt Whitman. In the start of the poem, he asks himself philosophical questions about life and the endless thoughts, coming up again. ‘O me! O Life’ With many wasteful years with people that let down and deceived.

In the end of the poem, the narrator answers some questions that he asked himself in the beggining. We think that it ends the poem very well, because it turns something negative into something positive and a certain thankfulness over being born.

Our conclusion of the poem is that there seems to be a big consideration about life and what follows.

“O me! O life! Of the questions 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.”

You can read the poem in its full length here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182088