William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley

Born:23 August 1849 in Gloucester, England

School: The Crypt Grammar  School in Gloucester

Famous Work: Invictus
                           Margaritae Soroi
                           Pro Rege Nostro

Died: 11 July 1903

Favorite poem by William Ernest Henley: Invictus
                         Invictus

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FozhZHuAcCs Invicutus read by Morgan Freeman