Editing Invictus

{{Short description|Poem by William Ernest Henley}}
{{about|the poem|the 2009 film|Invictus (film)|other uses|Invictus (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox poem
|name = Invictus
|image = William Ernest Henley Vanity Fair 1892-11-26.jpg
|caption  = Portrait of William Ernest Henley by [[Leslie Ward]], published in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 26 November 1892.
|author = [[William Ernest Henley]]
|written = 1875
|country = United Kingdom
|genre =
|fetchwikidata= ALL
}}

"'''Invictus'''" is a short [[Poetry|poem]] by the [[Victorian era]] British poet [[William Ernest Henley]] (1849–1903). Henley wrote it in 1875, and in 1888 he published it in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section titled "Life and Death (Echoes)".

== Background ==
[[File:Portrait of William Ernest Henley.jpg|thumb|upright|[[William Ernest Henley]]]]
When Henley was 16 years old, his left leg required [[amputation]] below the knee owing to complications arising from [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="MG87">{{cite book|last=Goldman|first=Martin|url=https://archive.org/details/listerward0000unse|title=Lister's Ward|publisher=Adam Hilger|year=1987|isbn=0852745621|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|16}} In the early 1870s, after seeking treatment for problems with his other leg at [[Margate]], he was told that it would require a similar procedure.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Faisal |first=Arafat |date=Oct 2019 |title=Reflection of William Ernest Henley's Own Life Through the Poem Invictus |url=https://ijels.com/upload_document/issue_files/36IJELS-109201940-Reflectionof.pdf |url-status=live |journal=International Journal of English, Literature and Social Science |volume=4 |pages=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207213549/https://ijels.com/upload_document/issue_files/36IJELS-109201940-Reflectionof.pdf |archive-date=2024-02-07 |via=Google Scholar}}</ref>

He instead chose to travel to [[Edinburgh]] in August 1873 to enlist the services of the distinguished English surgeon [[Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister|Joseph Lister]],<ref name="MG87"/>{{rp|17–18}}<ref name="EC04">{{cite journal|last=Cohen|first=Edward|date=April 2004|title=The second series of W. E. Henley's hospital poems |journal=Yale University Library Gazette|volume=78|issue=3/4|page=129|jstor=40859569}}</ref> who was able to save Henley's remaining leg after multiple surgical interventions on the foot.<ref>[http://sites.google.com/site/jreedeshs/home/invictus-analysis "Invictus analysis"]. jreed.eshs {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312115455/https://sites.google.com/site/jreedeshs/home/invictus-analysis |date=2016-03-12 }}</ref> While recovering in the infirmary, he was moved to write the verses that became the poem "Invictus". A memorable evocation of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] stoicism—the "[[stiff upper lip]]" of self-discipline and fortitude in adversity, which popular culture rendered into a British character trait—"Invictus" remains a cultural touchstone.<ref name="Icons">[http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/stiff-upper-lip/biography/spartans-and-stoics-with-stiff-upper-lips Spartans and Stoics – Stiff Upper Lip – Icons of England] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212030541/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/stiff-upper-lip/biography/spartans-and-stoics-with-stiff-upper-lips |date=12 December 2009 }} Retrieved 20 February 2011</ref>

== Poem ==
[[File:Invictus.ogg|thumb|A reading of the poem "Invictus"]]

INVICTUS
<!-- Taken from first edition. Please do not change capitalization, add punctuation, etc. -->
<poem>Out of the night that covers me<!-- not capitalized in original ed; please do not add spurious capitalization -->
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<!-- punctuation from first ed; please do not "correct" the commas --> 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.</poem>

== Analysis ==
Latin for "unconquered",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Latinitium – Online Latin Dictionaries |url=https://www.latinitium.com/latin-dictionaries?t=lsn24756 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121103720/https://latinitium.com/latin-dictionaries/?t=lsn24756 |archive-date=2022-11-21 |access-date=2020-12-13 |website=Latinitium |language=en-US}}</ref> the poem "Invictus" is a deeply descriptive and motivational work filled with vivid imagery. With four stanzas and sixteen lines, each containing eight syllables, the poem has a rather uncomplicated structure.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Edward H. |date=1974 |title=Two Anticipations of Henley's 'Invictus' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3817033 |journal=Huntington Library Quarterly |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=191–196 |doi=10.2307/3817033 |issn=0018-7895 |access-date=2020-10-30 |jstor=3817033|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The poem is most known for its themes of willpower and strength in the face of adversity, much of which is drawn from the horrible fate assigned to many amputees of the day—[[gangrene]] and death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gangrene – Symptoms and causes|url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gangrene/symptoms-causes/syc-20352567|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Mayo Clinic|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101090858/https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gangrene/symptoms-causes/syc-20352567|url-status=live}}</ref>

Each stanza takes considerable note of William Ernest Henley's perseverance and fearlessness throughout his early life and over twenty months under [[Joseph Lister|Lister]]'s care.<ref name=":0" /> In the second stanza, Henley refers to the strength that helped him through a childhood defined by his struggles with tuberculosis when he says "I have not winced nor cried aloud."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hwk9sr|title=A book of verses /|first=William Ernest|last=Henley|date=July 17, 1889|publisher=New York|hdl=2027/hvd.hwk9sr}}</ref> In the fourth stanza, Henley alludes to the fact that each individual's destiny is under the jurisdiction of themselves, not at the mercy of the obstacles they face, nor other worldly powers.

Those who have taken time to analyze "Invictus" have also taken notice of religious themes, or the lack thereof, that exist in this piece. There is agreement that much of the dark descriptions in the opening lines make reference to [[Hell]]. Later, the fourth stanza of the poem alludes to a phrase from [[Jesus]]'s [[Sermon on the Mount]] in the [[King James Version|King James Bible]], which says, at [[Matthew 7:14]], "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Despite Henley's evocative tellings of perseverance and determination, worry was on his mind; in a letter to a close companion, William Ernest Henley later confided, "I am afeard my marching days are over"<ref name=":0" /> when asked about the condition of his leg.

==Publication history==

The second edition of Henley's ''Book of Verses'' added a dedication "To R. T. H. B."—a reference to Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce, a successful Scottish flour merchant, baker, and literary patron.<ref>
{{cite book|last=Henley|first=William Ernest|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hwk9sr?urlappend=%3Bseq=82|title=A book of verses|publisher=Scribner & Welford|year=1891|edition=Second|location=New York|pages=56–57|hdl=2027/hvd.hwk9sr?urlappend=%3Bseq=82}}
</ref> The 1900 edition of Henley's ''Poems'', published after Bruce's death, altered the dedication to "I. M. R. T. Hamilton Bruce (1846–1899)," whereby ''I. M.'' stands for "in memoriam."<ref>{{cite book|last=Henley|first=William Ernest|url=https://archive.org/stream/poems00henlgoog#page/n140/mode/2up|title=Poems|publisher=David Nutt|year=1900|edition=Fourth|location=London|pages=119}}</ref>
[[File:Photo of Arthur Quiller-Couch.jpg|thumb|Arthur Quiller-Couch, the editor who came up with the title, "Invictus"]]

=== Title ===
The poem was published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses,'' with no title,<ref name="1sted">{{cite book|last=Henley|first=William Ernest|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?q1=scroll;id=nyp.33433112041938;view=image;start=1;sz=10;page=root;size=100;seq=78;num=56|title=A book of verses|publisher=D. Nutt|year=1888|location=London|pages=56–57|oclc=13897970|access-date=2015-04-04|archive-date=2021-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629122621/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?q1=scroll;id=nyp.33433112041938;view=image;start=1;sz=10;page=root;size=100;seq=78;num=56|url-status=live}}</ref> but would later be reprinted in 19th-century newspapers under various titles, including:
* "Myself"<ref>{{cite news|date=1888-09-15|title=Myself|page=587|work=Weekly Telegraph|location=Sheffield (England)}}</ref>
* "Song of a Strong Soul"<ref>{{cite news|date=1889-07-10|title=Song of a Strong Soul|page=4|work=Pittsburgh Daily Post|location=Pittsburgh, PA}}</ref>
* "My Soul"<ref>{{cite news|date=1889-07-12|title=My Soul|page=2|work=Lawrence Daily Journal|location=Lawrence, KS}}</ref>
* "Clear Grit"<ref>{{cite news|date=1889-07-12|title=Clear Grit|page=2|work=Commercial Advertiser|location=Buffalo, NY}}</ref>
* "Master of His Fate"<ref>{{cite news|date=1892-02-05|title=Master of His Fate|page=8|work=Weekly Times-Democrat|location=New Orleans, LA}}</ref>
* "Captain of My Soul"<ref>{{cite news|date=1892-09-08|title=Captain of My Soul|page=4|work=Lincoln Daily Call|location=Lincoln, NE}}</ref>
* "Urbs Fortitudinis"<ref>{{cite news|date=1896-12-06|title=Urbs Fortitudinis|page=15|work=Indianapolis Journal|location=Indianapolis, IN}}</ref>
* "De Profundis"<ref>{{cite news|date=1899-10-07|title=De Profundis|page=3|work=Daily World|location=Vancouver, BC}}</ref>

The established title "Invictus" was added by editor [[Arthur Quiller-Couch]] when the poem was included in the ''[[Oxford Book of English Verse]]'' (1900).<ref>{{cite book|editor=Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044086685195?urlappend=%3Bseq=1035|title=The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1902|edition=1st (6th impression)|location=Oxford|page=1019|hdl=2027/hvd.32044086685195?urlappend=%3Bseq=1035|oclc=3737413}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=A.N.|date=2001-06-11|title=World of books|work=[[Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4262920/World-of-books.html|access-date=2009-12-14|archive-date=2010-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430015722/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4262920/World-of-books.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable uses==
===History===
* In a speech to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] on 9 September 1941, [[Winston Churchill]] paraphrased the last two lines of the poem, stating "We are still masters of our fate. We still are captains of our souls."<ref>[http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotations/famous-quotations-and-stories "Famous Quotations and Stories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016074736/http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotations/famous-quotations-and-stories |date=2015-10-16 }}. Winston Churchill.org.</ref>
* [[Nelson Mandela]], while incarcerated at [[Maximum Security Prison, Robben Island|Robben Island prison]], recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self-mastery.<ref>{{Cite news
| title    = Nelson Mandela: a very short introduction | url     = https://books.google.com/books?id=2EFHq0C1LSAC&pg=PA157
| publisher  = Oxford University Press
| quote    = ''Invictus, taken on its own, Mandela clearly found his Victorian ethic of self-mastery'' | first=Elleke | last=Boehmer | year=2008|isbn = 9780192803016}}</ref><ref>Daniels, Eddie (1998) ''There and back''</ref>
* Former [[State Counsellor of Myanmar]] and [[Nobel Peace Prize|Nobel Peace]] laureate<ref>Independent, 8/30/17</ref> [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] stated: "This poem had inspired my father, Aung San, and his contemporaries during the independence struggle, as it also seemed to have inspired freedom fighters in other places at other times."<ref>Aung San Suu Kyi. 2011. "[http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/radio4/transcripts/2011_reith1.pdf Securing Freedom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014348/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/radio4/transcripts/2011_reith1.pdf |date=2016-03-05 }}" (lecture transcript). ''[[Reith Lectures]]'', Lecture 1: Liberty. UK [[BBC Radio 4]].</ref>
* The poem was read by [[U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War]]. [[James Stockdale]] recalls being passed the last stanza, written with rat droppings on toilet paper, from fellow prisoner David Hatcher.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stockdale|first1=James|title=Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior|url=http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/StockdaleCourage.pdf|website=Hoover Institution, Stanford|date=1993|access-date=2014-12-31|archive-date=2020-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019024408/https://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/StockdaleCourage.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The phrase "bloody, but unbowed" was the headline used by the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' on the day after the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/|title=UK News|website=mirror|access-date=2021-07-17|archive-date=2023-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014073346/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The poem's last stanza was quoted by U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] at the end of his speech at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela in South Africa (10 December 2013), and published on the front cover of the 14 December 2013 issue of ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/printedition/2013-12-14|access-date=10 January 2014|title=The Economist Dec 14th, 2013|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|archive-date=2014-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109214801/http://www.economist.com/printedition/2013-12-14|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The poem was chosen by [[Oklahoma City bombing|Oklahoma City bomber]] [[Timothy McVeigh]] as his final statement before his execution.<ref>{{cite news|title=Execution of an American Terrorist|work=Court TV|last=Quayle|first=Catherine|date=June 11, 2001|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.mcveigh5/index.html#cnnSTCText|access-date=February 6, 2012|archive-date=December 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201205136/http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.mcveigh5/index.html#cnnSTCText|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Timothy McVeigh Put to Death for Oklahoma City Bombings|work=FOX News|last=Cosby|first=Rita|date=June 12, 2001|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/timothy-mcveigh-put-to-death-for-oklahoma-city-bombings|access-date=April 15, 2008|archive-date=April 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413215719/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,26904,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2001-06-11 |title=McVeigh's final statement |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jun/11/mcveigh.usa1 |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
* The perpetrator of the  [[Christchurch mosque shootings]] in New Zealand in 2019 cited "Invictus"''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kornhaber |first=Spencer |date=2019-03-16 |title=When Poems of Resilience Get Twisted for Terrorism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/new-zealand-shooting-manifesto-poems-dylan-thomas/585079/ |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121100354/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/new-zealand-shooting-manifesto-poems-dylan-thomas/585079/ |url-status=live }}</ref>''
* According to his sister, before becoming a civil rights leader, Congressman [[John Lewis]] used to recite the poem as a teenager and continued to refer to it for inspiration throughout his life.<ref>"[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/18/invictus-was-among-john-lewiss-favorite-poems-it-captures-his-indomitable-spirit/?hpid=hp_save-opinions-float-right-4-0_opinion-card-d-right%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans ‘Invictus’ was among John Lewis’s favorite poems. It captures his indomitable spirit.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718224314/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/18/invictus-was-among-john-lewiss-favorite-poems-it-captures-his-indomitable-spirit/?hpid=hp_save-opinions-float-right-4-0_opinion-card-d-right:homepage/story-ans |date=2020-07-18 }}." ''The Washington Post''. 17 July 2020.</ref>
* Verse "Out of the night that covers me" and phrases "Bloody, but unbowed" and "Captain of my soul" are used as titles of all three parts of [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|Prince Harry's]] memoir [[Spare (memoir)|''Spare'']] (published in 2023). The poem is also mentioned as the author reminisces his involvement in the [[Invictus Games]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duke of Sussex |first=Prince Harry |title=Spare |publisher=[[Penguin Random House]] |year=2023 |isbn=9780593593806}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
* In [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[De Profundis (letter)|De Profundis]]'' letter in 1897, he reminisces that "I was no longer the Captain of my soul."
* In Book Five, chapter III ("The Self-Sufficiency of Vertue") of his early autobiographical work, ''[[The Pilgrim's Regress]]'' (1933), [[C. S. Lewis]] included a quote from the last two lines (paraphrased by the character Vertue): "I cannot put myself under anyone's orders. I must be the captain of my soul and the master of my fate. But thank you for your offer."
* In [[W. E. B. Du Bois]]' ''The Quest of the Silver Fleece'', the last stanza is sent anonymously from one character to another to encourage him to stay strong in the face of tests to his manhood.
* In "Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit," by P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves refers to the phrase "bloody but unbowed" in relation to Bertie Wooster, highlighting Bertie's resilience despite his troubles. 
* The phrase "bloody, but unbowed" was quoted by [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] in [[Dorothy Sayers]]' novel ''[[Clouds of Witness]]'' (1926), referring to his (temporary) failure to exonerate his brother of the charge of murder.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sayers|first=Dorothy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mtcMZhUWTqcC&q=clouds+of+witness+%22bloody+but+unbowed%22&pg=PA28|title=''Clouds of Witness''|date=1943|publisher=Classic Gems Publishing|page=28|access-date=2014-05-15}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* In [[Huey Long]]’s 1935 book ‘’[[My First Days in the White House]],’’ Huey Long fantasizes about a speculative cartoon published in the newspapers in which an unflattering image of himself among the words “Invictus.”
* The last line in the poem is used as the title for [[Gwen Harwood|Gwen Harwood's]] 1960 poem "I am the Captain of My Soul", which presents a different view of the titular captain.

=== Film ===
* In ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942), Captain Renault (played by [[Claude Rains]]) recites the last two lines of the poem when talking to Rick Blaine (played by [[Humphrey Bogart]]), referring to his power in [[Casablanca]]. While delivering the last line, he is called away by an aide to [[Gestapo]] officer Major Strasser.<ref>{{YouTube|id=IBJGHvt7I3c|title=Casablanca Movieclips excerpt}}</ref>
* In ''[[Kings Row]]'' (1942), psychiatrist Parris Mitchell (played by [[Robert Cummings]]) recites the first two stanzas of "Invictus" to his friend Drake McHugh (played by [[Ronald Reagan]]) before revealing to Drake that his legs were unnecessarily amputated by a cruel doctor.
* In ''[[Sunrise at Campobello]]'' (1960), the character Louis Howe (played by [[Hume Cronyn]]) reads the poem to Franklin D. Roosevelt (played by [[Ralph Bellamy]]). The recitation is at first light-hearted and partially in jest, but as it continues both men appear to realize the significance of the poem to Roosevelt's fight against his paralytic illness.
* [[Nelson Mandela]] is depicted in ''[[Invictus (film)|Invictus]]'' (2009) presenting a copy of the poem to [[Francois Pienaar]], captain of the national [[Springboks|South African]] rugby team, for inspiration during the [[Rugby World Cup]]—though at the actual event he gave Pienaar a text of "[[The Man in the Arena]]" passage from [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s ''[[Citizenship in a Republic]]'' speech delivered in France in 1910.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dominic Sandbrook|date=30 January 2010|title=British leaders: they're not what they were|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/gordon-brown/7104500/British-leaders-theyre-not-what-they-were.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201052521/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/gordon-brown/7104500/British-leaders-theyre-not-what-they-were.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 February 2010|publisher=The Daily Telegraph (UK)}}</ref>
* The last two lines "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul" are shown in a picture during the 25th minute of the film [[The Big Short (film)|''The Big Short'']] (2015)''.''
* ''[[Star Trek: Renegades]]'' (2015) opens with Lexxa Singh reciting the poem and writing it on the wall of her prison cell.

=== Television ===
* In the 5th episode of the 2nd season of ''[[Archer (2009 TV series)|Archer]]'', "[[List of Archer episodes#Season 2 (2011)|The Double Deuce]]" (2011), Woodhouse describes Reggie as "in the words of Henley, 'bloody, but unbowed'".
* In the 8th episode of the [[The Blacklist season 5|5th season]] of TV series ''[[The Blacklist]]'', "Ian Garvey", Raymond 'Red' Reddington (played by [[James Spader]]) reads the poem to Elizabeth Keen when she wakes up from a ten-month coma.
* In the 6th episode of the [[One Tree Hill season 3|third season]] of ''[[One Tree Hill (TV series)|One Tree Hill]]'', "[[Locked Hearts and Hand Grenades|Locked Hearts & Hand Grenades]]" (2006), Lucas Scott (played by [[Chad Michael Murray]]) references the poem in an argument with Haley James Scott (played by [[Bethany Joy Lenz]]) over his heart condition and playing basketball. The episode ends with Lucas reading the whole poem over a series of images that link the various characters to the themes of the poem.
* In season 1, episode 2 of ''[[New Amsterdam (2018 TV series)|New Amsterdam]]'', "Ritual", Dr. Floyd Reynolds (played by [[Jocko Sims]]) references the poem while prepping hands for surgery prior to a conversation with his fellow doctor Dr. Lauren Bloom (played by [[Janet Montgomery]]).
* In the episode "Interlude" of the series ''[[The Lieutenant]]'', the lead character and the woman he is infatuated with jointly recite the poem after she has said it is her favorite poem.  His reciting is flawed by lapses, which she fills in.
* In season 4, episode 14 of ''[[New Amsterdam (2018 TV series)|New Amsterdam]]'', "...Unto the Breach", Dr. Floyd Reynolds (played by [[Jocko Sims]]) recites the poem while prepping for surgery.
* In season 1, episode 3 of Hulu's [[Nine Perfect Strangers (TV series)|''Nine Perfect Strangers'']], Napoleon Marconi (played by [[Michael Shannon]]) references the poem in his one-on-one with Masha (played by [[Nicole Kidman]]) when referring to his son who died by suicide. Napoleon states, "Zach chose to be the master of his fate" referencing the line "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul" by Henley.
* In episode 22, season 5 of ''[[30 Rock]]'', “Everything Sunny All the Time Always”, Jack Donaghy quotes the last two lines of the poem in to Liz Lemon.

=== Sports ===
* [[Jerry Kramer]] recited the poem during his NFL [[List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees|Pro Football Hall of Fame]] induction speech.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Green Bay Packers|url=https://www.facebook.com/Packers/videos/10156574334651263/|access-date=2018-08-06|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121100355/https://www.facebook.com/Packers/videos/10156574334651263/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[Invictus Games]]—The Invictus games were founded by Prince Harry, the Ministry of Defense, and Sir Keith Mills. Prior to the inaugural games in London in 2014, entertainers including [[Daniel Craig]] and [[Tom Hardy]], and athletes including [[Louis Smith (gymnast)|Louis Smith]] and [[Iwan Thomas]], read the poem in a promotional video.<ref>{{cite web|title=Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy & Will.i.am recite 'Invictus' to support the Invictus Games|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmLJAIQZv_Y| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ZmLJAIQZv_Y| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|publisher=YouTube|access-date=9 May 2016|date=29 May 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=When are Prince Harry's Invictus Games and what are they?|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/05/when-are-prince-harrys-invictus-games-and-what-are-they/|access-date=9 May 2016|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=8 May 2016|archive-date=3 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103143027/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/05/when-are-prince-harrys-invictus-games-and-what-are-they/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Video games ===
* The second stanza is recited by Lieutenant-Commander [[Ashley Williams (Mass Effect)|Ashley Williams]] in the 2012 video game ''[[Mass Effect 3]]''
* The game ''[[Sunless Sea]]'' features an "Invictus Token" for players who forgo the right to create backups of their current game state. The item text includes the last two lines of the poem.
* The poem was recited in an early commercial for the [[Microsoft]] [[Xbox One]].
* The game ''[[Robotics;Notes]]'' features the last two lines of the poem in its epigraph.

=== Music ===
* The lines "I am the master of my fate... I am the captain of my soul" are paraphrased in [[Lana Del Rey]]'s song "[[Lust for Life (Lana Del Rey song)|Lust for Life]]" featuring [[The Weeknd]]. The lyrics are changed from "I" to "we," alluding to a relationship.
* [[Belgium|Belgian]] Black / Folk Metal band [[Ancient Rites]] use the poem as a song on their album ''Rvbicon'' (Latin form of [[Rubicon]])
* The prominent classical contemporary Indonesian composer [[Ananda Sukarlan]] (b. 1968) made a song for soprano, cello and piano in 2023. It was premiered by the soprano Ratnaganadi Paramita in Jakarta, Indonesia.
* The [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Punk rock|punk]] band [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] released a record entitled ''Bloodied but Unbowed (The Damage to Date 1978-83)'' in [[1983]].
* British composer [[Howard Goodall]] created a setting of the Passion narrative in 2017 titled "Invictus: A Passion".  The work uses many texts in telling the story but the titular movement features this poem in its entirety. The composer's notes may be found [http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/works/choral-music/invictus-a-passion here].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Poetry
}}
* ''[[If—]]'', Rudyard Kipling
* ''[[Citizenship in a Republic|The Man in the Arena]]'', Theodore Roosevelt
* "Let No Charitable Hope," [[Elinor Wylie]]
* [[Agency (philosophy)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Invictus}}
* {{wikisource-inline}}
* The original untitled poem in Henley's ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=bilDAQAAMAAJ&dq=Book%20of%20Verses%20henley&pg=PA56 A Book of Verses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424000931/https://books.google.com/books?id=bilDAQAAMAAJ&dq=Book%20of%20Verses%20henley&pg=PA56 |date=2023-04-24 }}'' at [[Google Books]].
* {{librivox book | title=Invictus| author=Henley}}

[[Category:1888 poems]]
[[Category:Victorian poetry]]