Invictus
"Invictus" is a short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).
Background
At the age of 12, Henley fell victim to tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later, the disease progressed to his foot, and physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate directly below the knee. It was amputated when he was 25. Victorian text-books professing stoicism were popular in English public schools, and in 1875, the Stoic ideal of indifference in the face of suffering inspired Henley to write his famous stiff upper lipped poem "Invictus" (Unconquered) from a hospital bed.[1] Despite his disability, he survived with one foot intact and led an active life until his death at the age of 53.
Publication history
The poem was written in 1875 and first published in 1888[2] in Henley's Book of Verses, where it was the fourth in a series of poems entitled Life and Death (Echoes).[3] It originally bore no title.[3] Early printings contained only the dedication To R. T. H. B.—a reference to Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce (1846–1899), a successful Scottish flour merchant and baker who was also a literary patron.[4] The familiar title "Invictus" (Latin for "unconquerable"[5]) was added by Arthur Quiller-Couch when he included the poem in The Oxford Book Of English Verse (1900).[6][7]
Text
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.
Influence
In the 1942 film Casablanca Captain Renault, a corrupt 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. The irony in the reference is that the theme of the poem refers to self-mastery, when in fact all of Renault's power in Casablanca is merely granted.
In the 1945 film Kings Row, Parris Mitchell, a psychiatrist played by Robert Cummings, recites part 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 on Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self mastery.[8][9]
In the 2009 movie Invictus, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, the poem is referenced several times. It becomes the central inspirational gift from Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman, to Springbok rugby team captain François Pienaar, played by Matt Damon, in advance of the post-apartheid Rugby World Cup hosted in 1995 by South Africa and won by the underdog Springboks.[10]
Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen recited the poem as an introduction to his own song "The Darkness", during a couple of shows on his 2010 world tour, most notably at his State Kremlin Palace show on October 7.[11][12]
In Napoleon Hill’s book, Think And Grow Rich, this poem is quoted and discussed. Hill added that, we are master and captain, “ . . . because we have the power to control our thoughts”. We are warned that this “power”, alluded to in Henley’s poem, “ . . . makes no attempt to discriminate between destructive thoughts and constructive thoughts”. Napoleon Hill explains that the conscious choice is laid upon the individual and suggests that the poet left others to, “. . . interpret the philosophical meaning of his lines”.
References
- ^ Spartans and Stoics - Stiff Upper Lip - Icons of England Retrieved February 20, 2011
- ^ Adams, James Eli (2009) A history of Victorian literature John Wiley and Sons ISBN 0631220828
- ^ a b Henley, William Ernest (1888). A book of verses. London: D. Nutt. OCLC 13897970.
- ^ For example in Henley, William Ernest (1891). A book of verses (3rd ed.). New York: Scribner & Welford. OCLC 1912116.
- ^ "English professor Marion Hoctor: The meaning of 'Invictus'". CNN. 2001-06-11. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- ^
Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas (ed.) (1902). The Oxford book of English verse, 1250–1900 (1st (6th impression) ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 1019. OCLC 3737413.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ Wilson, A.N. (2001-06-11). "World of books". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Daniels, Eddie (1998) There and back: Robben Island, 1964-1979. p.244. Mayibuye Books, 1998
- ^ Boehmer, Elleke (2008). "Nelson Mandela: a very short introduction". Oxford University Press.
'Invictus', taken on its own, Mandela clearly found his Victorian ethic of self-mastery
- ^ IMDb page.
- ^ leonardcohenforum.com report
- ^ YouTube video of Cohen's Moscow recitation