Invictus Essay

Invictus

Invictus is a short Victorian work of poetry written in 1975, by English poet William Ernest Henley. The poetic piece of literature is based on Henley's struggle with tuberculosis and the amputation of his leg, along with other struggles he was facing in life. William Ernest Henley's Invictus depicts the power one must have to defeat adversity and obstacles that arise in life.

Invictus impacts leaders, such as myself and others of the twenty-first century by redefining the characteristics of a leader. Located in the second stanza of the poem Henley states:

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Henley describes a leader as someone who has faced misfortune, but has emerged stronger and wiser from their unfortunate situations. A leader is defined as someone who is confident, honest, but also is willing to acknowledge when they face difficulties and persevere through those circumstances. Henley motivates future leaders

such as myself and others to be a leader in the toughest times. Maya Angelou stated “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

Located in the third stanza of the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, he states:

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.

In life, when it seems you are at your weakest point, you are actually at your strongest point. This is the time where you take back control over your fate or destiny. The time where you erase and correct your story or form of art. Henley describes the basic human emotions, that individuals feel, but he also deliberately describes how to progress through the dark places in which we may find ourselves stuck. Desmond Tutu stated “Hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all the darkness”.

William Ernest Henley states in the fourth stanza of the poem:

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.

In my opinion, William Ernest Henley indicates that we as human beings control our fate. Personally we each individually write our stories that advocate for our voices to be heard. By becoming the captain of our souls we allow ourselves to determine whether we want to the passengers in our lives or the drivers. We each decide what we want our lives to feel or embody. Individually, we determine our journey or course throughout life.

In conclusion, what I took away from reading Invictus was we all have the power to defeat adversity or obstacles in our lives. Malcolm X stated “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”

I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.