Davis English 9

Monday, October 18, 2010

"Invictus" reaction

"Invictus" poem by William Ernest Henley --student reaction


Reread Henley's poem below, if needed and then choose a line from it that captures the theme of the piece, makes you think about your life, America, our freedoms, etc. Start you topic sentence with the line and the poet's name, stating what it means to you.

Ex. In William Ernest Henley's poem "Invictus" the line "Out of the night that covers me," captures the...

"Invictus" by William Ernest 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 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, 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.

22 Comments:

  • At 12:57 PM , Blogger jake said...

    I am the master of my fate;
    I am the captain of my soul.
    this means to me that no one else can make your fate and make decisions for you it is your self not someone else so you don't have to listen to what people say for you today. Now the saying that he is the captian of his sole that means that no one can change his thoughts.

     
  • At 12:57 PM , Blogger Russell O 12 said...

    In the poem Invictus the author writes "Iam thee master of my fate/Iam the captain of my soul" This shows that we are all unique. We can control our fate and control what we do. We can control the outcome our lives. But we can only do all of this if we try and work hard. This could be connected with all influence weather you see someone at the bowling ally and they force you to do something or you just get influenced by your family. The complete idea of the thought was that we control our life not the group, not the world, and not the government only you.

     
  • At 12:57 PM , Blogger StevenG24 said...

    In the poem "Invictus by William Ernest Henley, It told a story about a man who has been through a hard life and has come out extremely confident and commanding. In the poem it talked about it how had a bloody forehead because he was beat up and how he had a hard life. How these things made him stronger and he now fells that he is indestructible and cannot be beaten he controls his own life.

     
  • At 12:58 PM , Blogger Riley Banks said...

    Beyond this place of warmth and tears/Looms but the horror of the shade. I chose this sentence because this statement speaks to me that behind happiness can be very terrifying things. This is special to me because sometimes the way i act really does not resemble me at all. When the author talks about this "horror of the shade" it makes you wonder what kind of events he has been through to make this feeling of such strong feelings. i like this line because it makes me think about my own horrors of the shade.

     
  • At 12:58 PM , Blogger Ava Kalhoefer said...

    In Invictus by William E. Henley I most favor a quote: "Looms but the Horror of the shade/And yet the menace of the years/Finds, and shall find me, unafraid." The quote lets me image a story of the author's life. Somehow, firstly, the author does mention his own life in detail, which lets me imagine his own life. There are so many possibilities; maybe he had a abusive dad, or an orphan working at a hurtful place, who knows? Overall, he shows his strength by mentioning that he was not afraid. His survival is there in that mentioning that it is possible to overcome what he has overcome. The survival is like a coating to that quote, represented shortly, but still there, it is literally telling us to be strong and the worst will be overcome. There is a story, there is courage, there is a survival being told in this quote, which represents one of many in Henley's Invictus.

     
  • At 1:00 PM , Blogger ElaineB said...

    In the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley the one line the stood out the most to me was "And yet the menace of the years finds, and shall find me, unafraid." I can relate to this quote because when ever i face fear i always think to myself that god is with me so fear not. A lesson i learned at a church camp. Sometimes i even forget it. I've had a phobia of needles ever since I was born. Therefore, a visit to the doctor drives my nerves crazy. When i go in the elevator i breath slowly and try to remember the lesson. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Either way, i would never let anyone know i was afraid and weak.

     
  • At 1:01 PM , Blogger triggs7 said...

    The line "I have not winced nor cried aloud." from the poem Invictus kind of says that even through bullying and tormenting i dont show that anything ever happened.

     
  • At 1:02 PM , Blogger william said...

    In the poem Invictus, by William Ernest Henley, the sentence: "My head is bloody, but unbowed." To me, it means I'm injured but I'm not brought down. In the poem, the guy is not giving up, he's a fighter.
    The sentence in this poem fits me because I have my own experience in my life. I have gone through several times in my life that hurts me a lot, but I'm not going to be defeated. Life ain't always easy and everyday, we're survivors. So when I have a bad day, just forget about it and think about something good. This person in the poem is like that because he's not letting some bad thing that had happened to him to bring him down.

     
  • At 1:04 PM , Blogger Jenni M #2 said...

    In the poem Invictus written by William Ernest Henley the line, "I thank whatever gods may be/For my unconquerable soul.” really stands out to me because it is giving gratitude, which most people do not do. I think it is really cool how he is thanking God, or in his case whatever Gods may be for his soul. According to him, his soul is unconquerable which means that no one is able to take over his soul. His soul is still up and running. This line is clearly really important to the poem Invictus.

     
  • At 1:05 PM , Blogger Davis said...

    james dalrymple In the poem Invictus the line or lines or phrase that really impacted me was the phrase. I am the captain of of my own soul. this phrase struck me as that we truly are in control of our own souls. We want control of everything around us but dont know how control themselves or there own emotions.
    To control ones soul is to contorl there hole selves. Body mind and emotions.

     
  • At 1:06 PM , Blogger mckennab16 said...

    In the poem "Invictus" by William Emest Henley,the line that stood out to me the most was "I am the master of my fate;/I am the captain of my soul." This to me means that I (the master/captain) choose my future, and my choices (my soul/fate.)My choices are what makes me...me! If i choose to go to collage...then people would know me as a well educated women. If i chose to smoke at a young age...then people would know me as a heavy smoker. Weather my choices are good or bad...I choose who i am with those choices.That to me is what that line is saying. Weather it says it directly or not, they have the same meaning. So that tells me im my captain...i need to make good decisions.

     
  • At 1:07 PM , Blogger AveryL said...

    In the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, the line “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.” is one that sticks out to me because it's the meaning of how you should always be yourself. I believe that this is saying no matter how things are done or said, you shouldn't let others choose your life for you, you should live your own. The line “it matters not how straight the gate” means to me that no matter how many harsh times or “curves” in your life you should not let anyone come in the way of it. “How charged with punishments the scroll” says to me that it doesnt matter how terrible you are or how much you might have messed up in life, you still are you and you still will be able to control and fix the mistakes in your life. “I am the master of my fate;/ I am the captain of my soul” is a summary or the whole poem to me. It restates that you are in charge of your life and that you control your fate and soul.

     
  • At 1:11 PM , Blogger Michael M. said...

    In the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley the line "I am the captain of my soul" this line resembles me because I am in control of my life, No one tells me what to do, and I lead myself like a captain would do. To start, this line resembles me because I am in control of my life. I tell myself what to do and stay in control. Also, No one tells me what to do. I tell myself what to do and if someone tries to tell me and leave because I am in control. Last, I lead myself like a captain would do. I always led myself in the right direction and help others follow that path too. All in all this is why the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley is like me.

     
  • At 1:11 PM , Blogger megan j said...

    In the poem Invictus, Ernest Henley describes that he will never back down from anything he believes in. The poem explains that he is somehow fighting a fight, but he will not ever back down. "Under the bludgeoning of chance/my head is bloody, but unbowed". This quote explains that although he is hurting, even bleeding, he will not back down from a fight of a lifetime. As the poem ends, i feel a sense of accomplishment as the poet still is not going to give up.

     
  • At 1:12 PM , Blogger brads13 said...

    In the poem, “Invictus" by William Ernest Henley, the line “my head is bloody but unbowed”. to me this means that no matter what the challenge I will always go to my inner morals before making a decisions. Someone has tried to make him do something that he didn't agree with and even through being beaten brutally he still did not give in.

     
  • At 4:30 PM , Blogger Emily said...

    The poem Invictus to me describes the hardships of life. When it says "An yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me, unafraid" Means that he is having troubles through life but he is not going to let it ruin his life. Also when it says "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." It means when he makes his decisions they will affect his future. And he is in charge of his own actions and freedom.

     
  • At 7:13 PM , Blogger brandon said...

    WIlliam Ernest Henley truely does some great work in the poem ,"Invictus". I thought this poem was dark and had a little bit of an intence feeling that lingered in my mind for awile. This poem sounds like its about a capitain on a ship but it could easily be a poem for someone elses life and posible compareing it to a capitains life. My favorite quote was "I am the master of my fate". I thought it ment he could be anything he wanted to be; I thought that was just like "I am the capitain of my soul" so he could choose to have a good soul or a bad soul. And that these quotes could be aplied to anyone. In the end I thought this poem was great and had mixed opinions on what the poet is talking about.

     
  • At 7:31 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    a line form the invictus by William Ernest Henley that cought my attion was" I am the master of my fate;" because it tells the reader that the writer is in chrage and no one can the writers lifes path and the they are the only ones that can change that.

     
  • At 7:56 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

    In the poem "invictus" by William Ernest Henly, the line that Stood out to me the Most was " 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." i think this part of the poem means, once you look past all the bad stuff " beyond this place of wrath and tears" there will only be a few thing left that u might fear hidden in the present, witch would be looms but the horror of the shade , and for many years on something could threatens to cause evil witch would be "and yet the menace of the years " and once you get past all the evil you should find your self unafraid " finds,and shall find me,unafraid " I thing the hole meaning of this section of the poem is there are bad or scary parts of your life and you should try to look past and u will soon come out on top.

     
  • At 3:27 PM , Blogger Anthony F 20 said...

    In William Henley's poem "Invictus" the line "I am the captain of my own soul" captures the piece by telling that the poem is about being your own person.

     
  • At 10:16 AM , Blogger Jeremy L said...

    In the poem Invictus, Ernest Henley describes that he will never back down from anything he believes i am the captain of my soul.I am the captain of my soul.” is one that sticks out to me because it's the meaning of how you should always be yourself. am the captain of my soul.
    this means to me that no one else can make your fate and make decisions for you

     
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