An Analysis Of Henley's 'Invictus'

When one has entered a dark period in life or perhaps experienced a traumatizing event, how might he endure it? He may seek inspiration or guidance from a loved one. Another option may be to listen to his favorite music to help him through his hard times. Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. Although in today’s world it is more likely for someone to find motivation from his favorite soundtrack, others may choose to seek out encouragement from a poem. One example of this is “Invictus,” the poem that empowered Nelson Mandela after he was incarcerated in 1962.
“Invictus,” Latin term, translates to “unconquerable” in English. It is also a poem written in 1875 by William Ernest Henley, an English poet, after he had his left leg amputated due to tuberculosis. This poem describes how one should react to any challenges he may face. The writer of the poem is also the one with the unconquerable mentioned in the poem. When doctors notified him that he would have to have both of his legs amputated, he refused and only allowed them to remove one of them. Even though he was told that he would not survive if he only had one leg removed, he was still able to live a successful life and career as a poet. Therefor he was, as the poem also describes, …show more content…
For example, one of my friends has recently gone through an extremely rough time recently. Her and her long distance boyfriend’s relationship has been extremely tense recently, as he has practically stopped talking to her for the most part. Most of the time she manages to even be able to talk with him, they mostly bicker and argue, with my friend almost always ending up crying in the end of it because it is hard for her to psychologically bear it any longer. Remembering the poem “Invictus” would possibly be able to help her endure the rough patch in her life and possibly be more optimistic about the situation or even resolve