William Ernest Henley
William Ernest Henley (23 August 1849 – 11 July 1903) was an English poet, critic and editor. His most well known work is the poem "Invictus", written in 1875 and first published in 1888 in Henley's Book of Verses. It is said that this was written as a demonstration of his resilience following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection. This passionate and defiant poem originally bore no title. The familiar title 'Invictus' (Latin for "unconquered") was added by Arthur Quiller-Couch when he included the poem in The Oxford Book Of English Verse (1900).
In the 2009 movie title of the same name, former South African President Nelson Mandela is portrayed as having used the poem as a source of inspiration during his 27 year incarceration.
"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."
Text used under license from Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ernest_Henley .
Work released under CC-BY-SA http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 
