Invictus

William Ernest Henley

"Invictus" was written by the English poet William Ernest Henley. The poem is a
short Victorian poem, written in 1875 and published in 1888. The poem was originally
untitled, but in 1900 Arthur Quiller-Couch included the poem along with the title
"Invictus" in his book The Oxford Book of English Verse.
Invictus has ensured that Henley is a significant Victorian literary figure, but the
phenomenal popularity of this one poem has perhaps led to the neglect of his other work.
In fact, Henley was an influential critic, journalist and poet, although a less successful
dramatist.
He began work as a journalist, but his career was interrupted by a long stay in
hospital. Tuberculosis of the bone had led to the amputation of one leg below the knee,
and it was only through innovative treatment by Joseph Lister that his other leg was
saved. While in hospital, he produced a series of poems recording his observations and
feelings in a variety of poetic forms and using a range of techniques. Invictus is Latin
for unconquerable. Henley wrote this poem about stoicism, courage and refusing to
accept defeat while enduring a severely testing time in hospital.
William Ernest Henley's use of vivid language in his poem, "Invictus", creates
imagery which in turn aids in the poem's powerful and courageous tone. Henley brings to
the reader a poem in which victory is easily perceived due to the images that he creates
by using specific language.
The specific language which Henley uses in his poem "Invictus" is so strong and
deep that it is almost as if it took the reader to a new world - one in which feelings of
pride and dominance emerge. Certain language in this poem makes it extremely wellbuilt; especially when Henley says, "I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable
soul" (lines 3-4). Simply by choosing the word "gods" in these lines, the author implies
that he possesses some kind of supernatural strength that the gods have given him. This
supernatural phenomenon, his unconquerable soul, is something which stays in the
reader's mind throughout the whole poem. This helps because as Henley uses other
language, the unconquerable soul keeps ringing in the reader's head.
When Henley ends the third and fourth stanzas and he writes, "the menace of the
years finds, and shall find me, unafraid.....I am the captain of my soul" (lines 12,16), he
chooses these words for a reason. He wants to keep the reader thinking positive, thinking
about something grand and fearless. With this language that he uses throughout the poem,
William Ernest Henley is able to keep the reader focused on the ideas that he wants the
poem to get across.
This poem is the reflection of the authors feelings about his illness. In the first
stanza he expresses how unwell he feels and he compares his health to the darkness of
night and a black pit. He refers to his bad times as simply something that happens and he
had remained strong and confident by not showing his pain by crying out aloud.
According to his beliefs he concludes that no matter how a person lives no his or her life,
or good or bad, you are your own god and can manage your own destiny without the need
of instruction from someone else. God gave you a life and soul for a reason, and not to
just let others make decisions for you or to not fear decisions you have to make in life.
This poem also sums up the way of life in a way that its better to face up to your actions

and the results. When youre willing to take the credit for the good results of your actions
you also have to be prepared to take the blame for the negative actions.
In terms of the poems influence, Invictus was a source of inspiration for other
literary works or movies. For instance, C. S. Lewis included a quotation from the last
stanza in Book 5, chapter 3 of his early autobiographical work The Pilgrim's Regress
(1933).
In the 1942 film Casablanca, Captain Renault, an official played by Claude Rains
recites the last two lines of the poem when talking to Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey
Bogart, referring to his power in Casablanca.
In the 1942 film Kings Row, Parris Mitchell, a psychiatrist played by Robert
Cummings, recites the first two stanzas of "Invictus" to his friend Drake McHugh, played
by Ronald Reagan, before revealing to Drake that his legs were unnecessarily amputated
by a cruel doctor.
While incarcerated at Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to
other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self-mastery. Mandela is depicted
in the movie Invictus presenting a copy of the poem to Francois Pienaar, captain of the
national South African rugby team, for inspiration during the Rugby World Cup
though at the actual event he gave Pienaar a text of the "man in the arena" passage from
Theodore Roosevelt's Citizenship in a Republic speech.
Bibliography

www.wikipedia.com
www.poemofquotes.com