The Poem Invictus By William Henley

Anyone starting their senior year of high school begins to worry about almost everything. We have our entire lives in front of us in just twelve short months. Stress begins to build as I think about college. Where will I go? What will I study? There is only a little time left to do a lot of growing up. I am almost an adult living on my own. Sometimes I doubt if I am ready to take on this crazy world. This poem really speaks to me. I am very stubborn, and I am not easily discouraged or put down by anything in life.

The poem Invictus is a poem with a very strong message to those going through tough times or difficult tasks. The word Invictus means unconquerable in Latin, and as the title really sums up the meaning of the poem. The poem to me seems to be saying that I will be the unmovable object struggling against an unstoppable force.

In the first stanza of Invictus, William Henley speaks about the darkness covering him much like seniors are covered in the uncertainty of what to do after high school. The last year
The gate he speaks of sounds like the straight gate and narrow path to life (eternity in heaven) described in The Bible. I love the idea of not caring about how hard it may be to make it somewhere, but knowing you will succeed and pass through that “gate”. “I am the master of my fate,” Henley sends a message that no matter the circumstance, no matter the obstacles, ultimately we are the one in control of our actions and how we end up in life. This is very important for people who thinks they are stuck in a bad place because of their surroundings. I really am the “master” of my fate this year. Hard work and persistence will put me in a great place to be prepared for the world. Laziness and procrastination will lead to laziness in the rest of my life, and will leave me unprepared for college and future