Biography
William was born in Gloucester, UK 1849 and had been an influential poet, editor, and critic of the late victorian period. He had been the oldest of a family of six and his father, a bookseller, died in poverty leaving behind unpaid debts when William was only 19 years old.
- At the young age of 12 William had been diagnosed with Tuberculosis which was a devastating disease during that period. His left leg had to be amputated, not too many years later, and fortunately for him Dr. Joseph Lester, an innovative man, prevented the amputation of his other leg with a new method.
- William had to stay for two years in the Royal Edinburgh infirmary and he began to write about the traumatic experiences which he had endured as a patient.
- Leslie Stephen, a well renowned critic, began to publish his pieces of writing in the Cornhill Magazine.
- He had attended the Crypt Grammar School in Gloucester and its headmaster, a noted poet and scholar by the name of Thomas Edward Brown, had a significant impact on him. During William’s time in school, the headmaster had lended him books and aroused his passion in literature.
- His poem Invictus captured the struggle that he went through during this period of time, however, William’s other poems had been rejected by Victorian leaders who claimed that his pieces were laced with too much blunt realism.
- William Ernest Henley believed that there was some power which manipulated the universe yet he never had faith in God. Although he does hint towards God in his poem Invictus it only mentions the possibility of them being there. His faith in God did not carry him through the struggles in life.
During his time in the hospital, William had believed that one’s will to live and internal strength is the only resource towards perseverance. He did not have faith in an external being and, in all of his poems, hinted towards overcoming the obstacles in one’s life.
Stylistic Typicalities
William E. Henley adapts a darker, yet optimistic view of life, displayed in the following line: “Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloodied, but unbowed. Due to most of his poems being written whilst in a poor condition, his poems reflect the constant hardships he faced. The sentences are very structured and controlled, seen in the 4 sentences per verse. This could indicate the control of life he said he had, in the quote mentioned previously. Some cacophony in a few words were scattered throughout his poems.
Minor Annotations
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Bludgeonings means to be beat with a hard instrument and refers to unknown misfortunes which could present itself.
The horror of the shade could be in reference to death shadowing life. The menace of the years could mean who is causing his pain, God, and how confident he is that he shall not be afraid of death.
Stanza 2: Body can be broken but the spirit remains intact
Pit= refers to hell
Pole to pole= North Pole to the South
Stanza 1: Through all the adversities on Earth and the afterlife he is grateful for his soul which cannot be conquered
Last two lines show how Henley feels that he is responsible for what happens in his life because he can control his fate.
A,B Rhyme scheme throughout the entire poem.
Socratic Discussion
- If Henley’s conditions of life were better, do you think he would still have taken up poetry the way he did?
- What other universal understandings of life could you pull from the poem?
- If Henley were to live through today’s modern issues and conditions, could the exact same understandings of life be made?
- What possible themes do you see emerging inside this poem?
Themes
- Taking responsibility for one’s own destiny is a prevalent theme in the poem Invictus. He refers to how fate does not render us weakless as we do have the ability to change destiny.
- Another theme is how flesh can be damaged but the soul and spirit will remain intact.
- A theme that could be picked out form this piece is that life, while given to you as an opportunity to forge a path, also breaks oneself.
- Perseverance is an obvious theme and Henley demonstrates how life is riddled with endless difficulties but that we have the capability to overcome them. He makes the audience believe that they can surpass any problems which is the inspirational aspect of the poem.
- William’s use of vivid and impactful wording helped to build the tone of confidence in self to be courageous against difficulties in life. Perseverance is giving a new outlook on how powerful one can be if they understand that their fate is in their hands. Regardless of the pain that life will bring along, it is necessary to consider how passion felt by the soul cannot be diminished.
- When an individual is faced with a struggle in life, one may build an illusion of courage because it gives power to overcome these difficulties.
Emulation: Downfall
I fail. I falter. I fall
My faults against myself in a brutal brawl
It feeds off me, its prey, while I refuse to admit defeat,
I shall not cower in fear since my life is bittersweet
My soul remains intact but the beatings do not seize,
Within life’s pit of fire this soul is my only cool breeze
For when my body turns to ashes I still refuse defeat,
My heart crumbles to dust but my passion remains complete
You may hit me with the whip of failure or mock with words which are cold,
But these mere pinpricks shall be unable to break my unconquerable soul
Boulders will tumble upon my path and leave me in the shade,
But with my river-like persistence you shall find me unafraid
Acceptance for my failures set by fate
This shall not be my downfall, this shall be my gate
My destination remains unfound and unseen at all
But now I realize:
I fall to rise; I rise to fall
By: Abhay Parmar
Inspirational Writer Seminar: Kristin Hannah
April 9, 1995
The Oregon Coast
If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are. Today’s young people want to know everything about everyone. They think talking about a problem will solve it. I come from a quieter generation. We understand the value of forgetting, the lure of reinvention.
Lately, though, I find myself thinking about the war and my past, about the people I lost.
Lost.
It makes it sound as if I misplaced my loved ones; perhaps I left them where they don’t belong and then turned away, too confused to retrace my steps.
They are not lost. Nor are they in a better place. They are gone. As I approach the end of my years, I know that grief, like regret, settles into our DNA and remains forever a part of us.
I have aged in the months since my husband’s death and my diagnosis. My skin has the crinkled appearance of wax paper that someone has tried to flatten and reuse. My eyes fail me often-in the darkness, when headlights flash, when rain falls. It is unnerving, this new unreliability in my vision. Perhaps that’s why I find myself looking backward. The past has a clarity I can no longer see in the present.
I want to imagine there will be peace when I am gone, that I will see all of the people I have loved and lost. At least that I will be forgiven.
I know better, though, don’t I?
I was inspired by Preet, Hefseeba, and Zohra’s writer’s seminar on Kristin Hannah and her various books. The excerpt above is beautifully oriented and came from her well-known book “The Nightingale”. One key component of her writing that left a mark on me was how she made the first and last sentence connected. Only by reading the first and last sentence, I was able to grasp an understanding of her excerpt. She is an amazing writer, and I cannot wait to read her books when I have time to do so.
