INVICTUS

William Ernest Henly

 Born
23 August 1849
Gloucester, England
Died
11 July 1903 (aged 53)
Woking, England
Occupation
Poet, critic, and editor
 Nationality
British
Education
The Crypt School, Gloucester. St. Andrews University,
Saint Andrews, Scotland.
Period
c. 1870–1903
Notable works
"Invictus”
Spouse
Hannah Johnson Boyle
 His mother, Mary Morgan, a descendant of poet and critic Joseph
Warton, and father, William, a bookseller and stationer. William Ernest
was the oldest of six children, five sons and a daughter; his father died
in 1868, and was survived by his wife and young children. From the age
of 12, Henley suffered from tuberculosis of the bone that resulted in
the amputation of his left leg below the knee in 1868–69.

 One of Henley’s brothers – Anthony Warton became a landscape

painter and one called Edward John was said to be an excellent actor.
 During the years 1861- 1867, Henley attended the Crypt Crammer School
at Gloucester, England. He developed a deep friendship with the headmaster
– Thomas Edward Brown who was a well-known noted poet and author.

 His positive influence encouraged Henley to read and learn literature. He

was exceptionally intelligent and this talent was recognized by Thomas
Brown. Henley successfully cleared the Oxford Entrance Examination with
flying colors.

 However, his ill health and poor financial conditions did not favor him to
do so. He moved to London from Gloucester and after several months of
searching, he became a freelance journalist in London.
 HEALTH CONDITIONS OF WILLIAM
ERNEST HENLEY

 At a tender age of 12, Henley was diagnosed with tuberculosis in the bone.
This was quite a serious condition for a young boy like him. Nevertheless, it
does not make him stop or weaken him mentally even a bit.

 Tuberculosis led to the removal of the part below the knee of his left leg. A
few years after that, tuberculosis spread his other leg as well. Luckily, under the
guidance of Dr. Joseph Lister and his innovative techniques of surgery, there
became no need for the removal of his leg. He used his anti-septic surgical
method for the surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
 WORKS OF WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY

 Henley’s most famous and appreciated poem “Invictus” came out in 1875.
It is based on the medical struggle that he went through. However, his other
poems based on his struggles and the way he overcame them were not very
much accepted by the Victorian readers at the time.

 In 1888, he came up with “A book of Verses” which was a collection of all

the poems he wrote in the hospital. In 1892, “The Song of the Sword and
other Verses” a revised version of the previous volumes became a good seller.
 William Ernest Henley was a great editor. He edited for four
magazines over his lifetime. In 1877, he was the editor of the
“London”, a magazine that didn’t last for very long. From 1882 –
1886, he edited for the “Magazine of Art”, which was an art
magazine that came out every month.

 In 1889, he edited for the “Scots Observer” that later came to be

known as “National Observer” in 1891. He edited until 1893 when
he published “The Barrack-Room Ballads”. He edited the Tudor
Translations that began with the “Montaign” by John Florio and
ended with the Tudor Bible.
 He published the anthology along with the National Observer
called “The Book of English Prose”. He also edited “The Complete
Poetical Works of Robert Burns in collab with Thomas Henderson
in 1897. In 1904 he edited a seven-volume dictionary called “Slang
and its Analogues Past and Present”.
 DEATH OF WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY

 Henley died when he was 52 years old in the year

1903 due to tuberculosis. He died at his residence in

Woking, London.

 He was cremated and his ashes were put in his

daughter’s grave in Bedfordshire. His works are

highly appreciated and also referred to as a useful

weapon in English literature.

QUOTES BY WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY

“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.”
– William Ernest Henley in Echoes of Life and Death.
 U N L O C K I N G D I F F I C U LT I E S
 Bludgeoning- beat (someone) repeatedly with a bludgeon or other
heavy object.

 Winced - give a slight involuntary grimace or shrinking movement

of the body out of or in anticipation of pain or distress.

 Strait - a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other

large areas of water.

 Unbowed- not having submitted to pressure or demands.

 Looms- an apparatus for making fabric by weaving yarn or thread.

Clutch- grasp or seize (something) tightly or eagerly.

Menace- a person or thing that is likely to cause

harm; a threat or danger.

Unconquerable- (especially of a place, people, or

emotion) not conquerable.

Wrath- extreme anger.

Unafraid- feeling no fear or anxiety.

THANK YOU!