Written in 1892 by William Ernest Henley, Invictus is a poem about a man's struggle against life's toughest opponents. When Henley was 17 he had to amputate his foot due the contraction of tuberculosis of the bone when he was 12. Shortly after his affected foot was amputated he received news that another operation must be done on his other leg. He enlisted the help of a another doctor, Joseph Lister, and he was able to keep his other leg by undergoing intensive surgery on the foot.
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.
In school, we are watching the movie
Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie is set in South Africa during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It shows the tension on and off the field as a nation struggles to unite after Apartheid. As a South African, this movie makes me feel proud of who I am and my heritage. I first watched the movie with my dad and he was telling me about things that happened during the matches and even some stories about Apartheid. In the movie, Nelson Mandela recites the poem
Invictus and tells Francois Pienaar that it gave him inspiration while his was in prison at Robben Island. He says, "It taught me to stand when all I wanted to do was lie down." This is the exact same thought I had when I read the poem. Quite recently, I've been going through a very rough time. In school I'm not doing as well as I want to (especially in English) and since I'm entering my matric year next year, I have to start thinking about possible career choices.
All my life I've wanted to write and it seems that this year is the year that everyone decided to kick me while I'm down. Everyone suddenly wants to become a journalist or writer now and I feel like I'm getting lost in a sea of loud, overbearing people who are better than me. I was so unsure about myself that I started to doubt my abilities. I tried everything to get myself out of this rut, but nothing seemed to work, except for this poem. This poem is about standing tall and being confident about yourself. It is about determining your own future and not letting others dictate it for you. I realise that my fate is whatever I want it to be and I will work hard to achieve it.
This first line that caught my attention was
"...for my unconquerable soul." It implies that your soul can't be destroyed, it cannot be bruised or broken like your body. Your soul is able to heal itself and no one can defeat it.
"My head is bloody, but unbowed." No matter how many times you beat me up, not even when I'm bleeding and in pain, I will still stand strong. I will hold my head up high and I will not accept defeat. I will keep fighting until the end.
Even though my struggle isn't as big as the one faced by Nelson Mandela and even though I still have my entire life to live, I have found inspiration in these words and, whenever I am going through a tough time, I will keep coming back to this poem because I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my soul.
