A short podcast episode (Heroic +1) by Brian Johnson presenting William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus,” describing its background (Henley’s surgeries and earlier leg loss) and its historical resonance—Nelson Mandela reciting it on Robben Island, James Stockdale sharing it among POWs, and Winston Churchill paraphrasing it in a 1941 speech—followed by a brief inspirational reflection and call-to-action to heroic.us.
Questions this episode answers
William Ernest Henley.
1875.
Nelson Mandela.
James Stockdale.
September 9, 1941.
Hey hero. If you're enjoying these daily plus ones, make sure you head to heroic us to check out all of the other goodness. We have to help you activate your best every day. And now, today's Plus One.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to Another Heroic One. In our last several Plus Ones we've explored some of the most all time inspiring poems. We soaked in the wisdom from IF by Rudyard Kipling, Dreams by Langston Hughes and the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Check all those out linked in this plus one. Today we're going to wrap up that quick tour with what is arguably the most inspiring poem ever. Although originally published without a title, the poem is now known as Invictus. Invictus is Latin for unconquered. William Ernest Henley wrote the poem in 1875. At the time he was recovering from surgeries to prevent the amputation of his leg. He had already lost one leg a decade earlier when he was a 16 year old battling tuberculosis. Now here's the poem that Nelson Mandela recited to his fellow prisoners at Robben island, that James Stockdale and his fellow prisoners of war passed to one another, written with rat droppings on toilet paper and that Winston Churchill paraphrased in his iconic speech to the House of Commons on September 9, 1941. This is Henley. 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 My head is bloodied 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 straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul, and that's today's one. We are the masters of our fate. We are the captains of our souls. We, my beloved heroes, are unconquerable.
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