How should I defend this quote from the movie Dead Poets Society?"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry...

If I were to defend the quote given from Dead
Poets Society, I would note the separation between the affairs of man and the
affairs of the heart and mind.

"Medicine, law, business,
engineering" are elements of the world-at-large. Here lie the heavy burdens of keeping
our society and its members productive; we need these things to survive. Here we find
the support structure for every culture. It is also where the rats race. These are the
everyday affairs of "man."

Poetry, I believe, is a matter
of the heart and mind because it requires us to assume responsibilities to
ourselves. If we write poetry, we try to bridge the disconnect
between the world-at-large and matters of the heart. The poet speaks out: but it does
not need to always be sober or tragic; poetry can be uplifting, enlightening or funny.
We need only be honest with ourselves as poets, and the work will speak its own
truth.

With poetry how can there be mistakes? It is very
forgiving. The poem, like any piece of art, speaks to each member of its audience in a
different way. When it leaves its "creator," it becomes a new entity that draws its
identity from the specific and personal response of each person who
experiences it, with his or her own collection of personal experiences at hand. We are
given flexibility to explore, to report and to be praised or
misunderstood.

It is interesting that in the quote, poetry
is placed on the same level as medicine, law, business and engineering. It is described
as something with a substantive purpose, and the speaker insists that "cute" isn't it.
However, poetry is defined by the presence of "passion." This reminds us what fire and
energy may be found in verse.

And whether we read or write
poetry, its power is obvious to us and others. When we write poetry, we inspire others
with what we feel deeply about. When we read poetry, we acknowledge and validate the
author's work: whether we agree with it or not. We choose to examine and evaluate, and
these are the things that the poet searches for: not acceptance, but attention and
consideration.

We read and write poetry because of our
heart's passion. And rather than be categorized with the more serious aspects of the
precise world of engineering or business that "sustain life," poetry is placed with
beauty, romance and love: they are the things that guide us, feed us. Poetry can speak
of beauty, love and romance where nothing else may, but it also feeds the spirit within,
and keeps it alive.

Literally, poetry is verse often
written in meter, with rhyme and other literary devices to give it a musical sound.
Poetry catches the ear, and is best read aloud. And It is amazing that poetry can speak
so many ways to so many different people.

Poetry may not
serve the sole purpose of being fun, though often it is, but it allows us to express and
connect in a way that can lift us up, help us to better know ourselves and our world,
and provide the foundations for the more serious, sometimes less pleasurable aspects of
life, such as business or work. It is the soul's "oasis." And it makes us whole, even
while sometimes chopping us into pieces. It is the language of beautiful things that
cannot easily be defined.

There are some things that are
necessary in order to live. Poetry is something that is necessary to be
alive.