I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul means that It is me who

determines what my future will bring by the way l see life and prepare myself to face its
realities. It puts you in the driving seat of your life. It makes you understand that where
we are today is a byproduct of our previous decisions and concepts we adopted.

I am the captain of my soul means that I have the power to choose the mood I will
be in. It is not about what happens to us, we have the power to become a happy person
or choose to be a bitter person. We have the power to control our emotions, we have the
ability to choose where to seek fulfillment from and what to make out of our lives.

This phrase means that we have the power to become better, by engaging in productive
actions and choices that will catapult us to greatness. We have the power to be of good
cheers irrespective of what happens to us. We have the power to bring out the best in us
and acknowledge that it lies within us the power to become contributors and change
makers in life. It gives us the power back to us to know that we are the architects who
can draw the map of our own lives by the way we live, the things we choose to do and
how we choose to allow what is happening around us to affect our perspectives. It
means its all about you, take responsibility of your life and don't shade
blames on anybody.

Invictus, meaning “unconquerable” or “undefeated” in Latin, is a poem by William Ernest

Henley. The poem was written while Henley was in the hospital being treated for tuberculosis of
the bone, also known as Pott's disease.

Invictus is a poem which focuses on the human spirit and its ability to overcome adversity. It is a
rallying cry for those who find themselves in dark and trying situations, who have to dig deep and
fight for their lives. The poet certainly knew hard times and needed all his strength to battle against
disease.

Born in Gloucester, England in 1849, he was diagnosed with tubercular arthritis at the age of 12 and
went through years of pain and discomfort.

W.E. Henley wrote Invictus whilst in hospital undergoing treatment for tuberculosis of the bones,
specifically those in his left leg, which had to be amputated from the knee down. He was still only a
young man at this time.

He managed to save his right leg by refusing surgery and seeking an alternative form of treatment
from a Scottish doctor, James Lister.

It was during his time in Edinburgh that Henley met the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. They became
friends and corresponded on a regular basis. Stevenson later admitted that he had based his
character Long John Silver - from the book Treasure Island - on Henley, he having a wooden leg, a
strong rasping voice and a forceful personality.
Invictus does contain passion and defiance and it is easy to see just why so many use the powerful
lines to drum up courage and to shed light into the darker corners when all else fails. Written in 1875
and published in 1888 it retains its original power and conviction.
Henley's personal experience on the operating table and in a hospital bed, facing possible death,
certainly helped him create one of the most popular poems in the English language.

Invictus

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Analysis of Invictus
Invictus is a four stanza rhyming poem in iambic tetrameter, that is, with four beats or stresses in
each line. Occasional spondees occur to sharpen up this steady rhythm. The end rhymes are all full,
so the rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef ghgh. This helps keep the whole poem tight.

Note the use of enjambment in the first three stanzas, where one line continues meaning into the
next without punctuation.

Each quatrain deals with the speaker's personal reaction in the face of adversity. The basic idea is
that, no matter what life throws at you don't let it get you down. Times may be dark, the fates against
you, but you know what? The human spirit is immensely strong and capable of withstanding extreme
stress and pain.

Stanza by Stanza Analysis

First Stanza

The imagery is strong. It is night time, the dark covers everything in black. The night then becomes a
symbol of hopelessness, a depressive medium in which the soul is lost. The future cannot be seen.
This is similar in feeling to the idea of St John of the Cross, the Spanish mystic, writing in the 16th
century of 'the dark night of the soul', where the human spirit has lost its normal confident, self-
assured status.

Although the poem doesn't explicitly mention christianity, there is a sense that this opening line is
rooted in religiousness. The speaker is coming out of a period of total darkness, a hell.
The second line reinforces the first - the black pit suggesting that this was a deep depression, a
spiritual darkness covering the whole world, the world being that of the speaker.
And lines three and four acknowledge that help was given somewhere, somehow, perhaps by a
deity or deities, not by any named god or specific creator. The speaker implies that their
unconquerable soul is a gift from a godly realm. It's not quite prayer but it is grateful thanks.
Second Stanza

There is an interesting start to this second quatrain - fell clutch is delicious wording for the reader's
tongue and basically means cruel grasp, the speaker stating clearly that despite being tightly held, in
an awful situation, they didn't once give in or show signs of weakness.

Note how the speaker is at first subject to the negative but then responds in positive fashion, a
repeated theme throughout the poem.

The third and fourth lines follow a similar path. There is strong assonance - use of repeated vowels:
Under the bludgeonings of chance/My head is bloody but unbowed.
The speaker here suggesting that despite being battered and wounded there is still no subservient
or self-pitying bow of the head. The head is still held high.

More Analysis
Third Stanza

The speaker looks into the future, taking into account all the anger and pain associated with life on
earth, and particularly in places such as hospitals. The 'Horror of the shade' could be some hellish
place of dark where depression lies, a menacing thought.

Again, the reader is advised that there will be no capitulation, no giving in. In fact, the speaker has
been unafraid throughout the ordeal, which has lasted years, and will continue to show a brave face.
The message is underlined - the speaker has a clear intention, to survive against all the odds.

Fourth Stanza
The climax to the poem contains an allusion to the christian bible, New Testament Matthew (7:13/14)
where Jesus says 'Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it'.
What is the speaker suggesting when the words It matters not how are placed in front of strait the
gate?
This is the gate that leads to the heavenly life. Conversely, the second line is an inference to the
depths of hell - the punishments being the sins written down during a lifetime.

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The speaker is affirming that, whether a person believes in heaven and hell or not, the plain fact is
that the individual is in charge, is in control of their own fate. Henley experienced pain and distress
for many years - the poem is rooted in the awful circumstances he found himself in when a boy and
a young man.

More importantly, the poem's message is universal in its appeal. It says quite emphatically that, it
doesn't matter who you are, believer or not, you can overcome dark times by being brave and never
losing faith in your own soul's strength.

Little wonder that many famous and many unknown people over the years have used the inspiration
of this poem to help them face personal trials and tribulations

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Invictus-by-WEHenley