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William Earnest Henley (1849-1903) was an English poet, playwright, and editor who steered several important literary magazines. He was a friend of Robert Louis Stevenson and was well respected in Victorian literary circles of the 1890s. But he is probably most famous for his sixteen-line poem "Invictus," a testament to self-determination that gives us the phrase "My head is bloody, but unbowed." It's safe to say that "Invictus" is an autobiographical poem. Henley had an incredibly turbulent life: he was one of six children raised in poverty, he was afflicted with tubercular arthritis at age 12,
his left leg was amputated when he was 16, he spent months in hospitals struggling with illness, and he lost his only child to cerebral meningitis. His first collection of poems is titled In Hospital. Henley managed to overcome these adversities and engage in a long, rewarding literary career. His poem has since become an inspiration to many who have fallen on hard times -- "invictus" is Latin for unconquerable or undefeated. The closing lines sum up Henley's philosophy best: 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.
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