William ernest henley poems invictus

Poem by William Ernest Henley

This article is about the poem. For the 2009 film, see Invictus (film). For other uses, see Invictus (disambiguation).

"Invictus" is a short 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

When Henley was 16 years old, his left leg required amputation below the knee owing to complications arising from tuberculosis.^[1]: 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.^[2]

He instead chose to travel to Edinburgh in August 1873 to enlist the services of