Strait The Gate Essay

William Ernest Henley was an English poet of the 18th Century who dedicated his works to overcoming personal tragedy and accepting death. Diagnosed with tuberculosis at only age twelve, Henley led a hard, short life. He wrote the world famous poem Invictus after undergoing a life-saving leg amputation below the knee at the age of seventeen. The poem expresses passion, optimism, and, above all, inspires one to accept life with its challenges, while remaining confident that they are the ultimate self-determining agent of their destiny. The initial reason that I picked this poem was because it helped me through some very perplexing times over the past year. After deep analysis and inquiry, I have found that Invictus is much like Victor Frankl’s novel Man’s Search for Meaning in the way that it connects to logotherapy and self-determining. The poem is a mass of symbolism that forces one to read between the lines in order to fully understand Henley’s message. The last stanza of this poem is my favorite solely for the reason that it requires the most analysis. “Strait the gate” is a line that really inspires me. Strait is

At this time in the school year, I was in a tough predicament. I had been in the middle of a very immense problem with my father. It had been over a year ago since the life changing situation, and I was still struggling for recovery. I had not reached any sort of acceptance as to why such things happen, and to me of all people. Not only was I emotionally damaged, but my school work was too, suffering. My grades drastically dropped in almost every class, and I was miserable. Things changed when Aidan read Invictus in his strong, masculine voice that spring morning. I immediately connected to the poem, and found a sense of comfort in Henley’s reassuring words. The poem reminded me that it was not too late to change my mind about the situation, and that I could grow from