Strong, powerful and enticingly cryptic, are qualities many poets may strive for, but to truly express such qualities, a poet must live by them. The poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley embodies the splendor and influence that one’s own personal experiences bring to a piece of writing. Even without any knowledge of the authors own pain and struggles in life, this poem holds the rare potential to relate to any and every reader that is graced to come across it’s lines.
The title “Invictus” is a Latin word, meaning unconquerable, invincible and/or undefeated in which Henley lived and died by. Inspiring the creation of “Invictus” was a past of difficult and dark times for a young William Ernest Henley. A written piece of work is best expressed when the roots are implanted in the writer’s life – that is to say, an author’s best is when it stems from experience. At the age of 12, Henley learned what it meant to struggle, losing half his leg to tubercular arthritis and essentially becoming an imprisoned inmate of hospital life for almost two years. His hardships triggered a lifelong healing process through writing poetry, subsequently creating one of his most famous and well known pieces of work: “Invictus”. “Invictus” carries the reader on a roller coaster of the lows and highs of life. Dipping and diving through the trials and tribulations that challenge the soul, then rising up against them through one’s own ability to endure and discover an unwavering faith in one’s self. As a whole, the poem pays tribute to a way of life that is not just lived, but owned. Henley used his unfortunate time as a youth to his advantage, for if he had never been tested, and never known pain he would have never known his full potential and the freedom of his own empowerment. “Invictus” is a very personal poem, pertaining to the Henley’s own pain and uncertainty that catalyzes into fuel for strength, perseverance and redemption. The poem starts out depicting the depression and darkness Henley has felt in his past, but is quick not to linger in its sorrow. Instead he rebuttals with gratitude, “I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul” (Henley 4,5). discovering and owning a strength he may have never known he possessed without going through such dark times that were as “black as the pit from pole to pole” (Henley 2). Within the first four lines, Henley manages to connect to the reader by exposing a commonality all humans share at one point or another, hardship. By unraveling a thread that intertwines from person to person, he has created a common ground between himself and the reader.
However, what seems familiar, becomes new and inspiring as Henley offers the reader pride rather than pity. His pride continues to seep into the next stanza as he proudly expresses that:
“In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning’s of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.”
(Henley 5-8)
Essentially Henley broadens the readers mind by suggesting that no matter the circumstances there is no room for submission and self-doubt. Henley’s words manage to percolate off the page and stimulate an unknown confidence within the reader. The roller coaster powers on, reinforcing the written tracks “and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid” (Henley 11,12) as if to provoke and motivate the reader to be fearless in the past and present endeavors of life. Now screaming down the tracks, a body without fear, without self-pity, and without a drop of self-doubt the reader is left with nothing and no one to turn to but themselves. No excuses are excepted here, as “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” (Henley 15,16) Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, the cryptic tale of William Ernest Henley leaves the reader bolted in their seat, ready to reread and take another ride on “Invictus”.
He lived his life by the pen, inspiring others and died by his word, “Invictus”. Although inspirational to many, like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Winston Churchill, others have ridiculed it, suggesting that it reads with a “melodramatic tone, like that of a windy politician declaiming from a soapbox” (Cummings). Perhaps such critiques have been fortunate enough in life to not relate to hardships that created this poem and the man behind it. Perhaps such critiques couldn’t see passed the “Horror of the shade” (Henley 10), to be moved and empowered enough to be fearless, to be the masters of their own fate and to be the captain of their own souls.
Works Cited:
Cummings, Michael J. "Invictus: A Study Guide." Invictus: A Study Guide. N.p., 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. <http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides7/Invictus.html>.
Henley, Williams Ernest. “Invictus.” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182194. Web. 18 Oct. 2015
William Ernest Henley - William Ernest Henley Biography - Poem Hunter. "Biography of William Ernest Henley." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. <http://www.poemhunter.com/william-ernest-henley/biography/>.
