There are several ideas of what makes a piece of romantic; it must be inspirational, it must be a piece that sparks the imagination, the individuality, the intuition, the soul. Romanticists believe emotion and devotion can change the world. "Dead Poets Society" makes examples of these beliefs throughout. An exemplary character to center these ideas on is Mr. Keating. He is an english teacher at Welton Academy, an all boys academy. His teachings seem unconventional but by the end of the movie, his students appear to have learned major life lessons they most likely would not have learned elsewhere. Mr. Keating constantly tells the boys "Carpe Diem", which means to seize the day; the idea was highly popular among Romanticists. Mr. Keating spoke of how medicine, law, business, engineering, are necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love, is what humans stayed alive for and that is where he centered his lessons. He fused that into the boys education and changed the way many perceived reality.
Imagination ties deeply into the art of individuality. "Close your eyes! Close your eyes and tell me what you see!" Mr. Keating tells Todd, one of the shier students of the class, as he has him make up a poem consisting of the first word that comes to mind. The poem turns out to be powerful and beautiful which helps Todd realize he can live up to and past his older brother who was a superior student at Welton. Also, one of the main boys whose name is Charlie but eventually goes by Nuwanda has his mind sparked by Mr.Keating's teachings of poetry. .
Charlie changed his name at first to simply "woo women" and boost his own ego; but as the movie progressed, the name started to connect with him. "Nuwanda" represented his commitment to the Society, to poetry, and to his new self. He is looked on in the beginning of the movie but as the movie progresses, so does his character.