So it looks to me like you and Henley are talking about different sides of this realm. On the other hand, your poem “Victus” does seem to deal with matters after life here on Earth. His phrase “It matters not how strait the gate” seems like it could as well be “how straight the gait” – but this is a totally different matter. I see no allusions to “eternity” or that he feels he can navigate that side of things with the same attitude – of being commander of himself. I don’t see where you pick up that he’s extending that any further. He seems (to me) to be saying only that however difficult life has been for him, he’s remained in charge of himself, and that, if nothing else, is a (his) major accomplishment. ![]() The only allusion he makes to anything beyond it is him saying “beyond this place of wrath and tears / looms but the horror of the shade” – but he says nothing more about it, only that it’s unknown (“shade”), and that it’s a “horror,” without saying how he even got such a notion. Henley seems to me to only to be talking about his mortal life. I don’t get the same reading of “Invictus” that you do. ![]() Thanks for pushing me– I enjoy the “ernest” (mind the pun) discussion! Reply I might be misunderstanding Henley, and if that’s the case I would certainly appreciate correction. None of those points are a denial of a higher power, but help us appreciate what He has done for us! I hope some explanation has cleared things up. Henley might also be saying we can master our temporal fate, but my poem barely if at all addresses that. (We can of course reject his grace, and in that way “captain our souls” to condemnation.) God is in charge here, and that’s what my final couplet emphasizes. However, the Bible is clear that the only way a happy eternity is secured is not by any will or action of ours, but only by the forgiveness which we sinners passively recieve through faith in Jesus, Who conquered sin and death for us. He seems to think that the grit and determination which got him through his difficult life will also see him through death. His idea that one can captain one’s soul into eternity is especially what my poem is against. I think Henley’s language seems to indicate that he has an eye on his eternal fate. It’s important to figure out whether we’re talking about “mastering” our eternal or our temporal fate. We may or may not agree on that use–an interesting discussion on its own!) (As a heads up, I’ll be using the Bible authoritatively here. Thanks for the compliment! I’ll do my best to respond to the critique. You are off to a very good start~let’s see more ! Reply We are only here for such a little time, I think we are required to make the most of it. ![]() ![]() That’s why I rejoice at what I see on your page. But the repetitive mix of simplistic ideas and propaganda being forced on children and adolescents today is nothing less than an obscenity deliberately designed to produce an ignorant and easily controlled populace. What I was taught.was not quite so elevated, but still respectable. You may already know this once was the case! I n order to graduate from high school she had to have reached college level in many subjects. Just for your information,when I read the public school books my mother studied, I am amazed at the remarkably high level of expertise she was expected to attain. The home schooling you are receiving is producing some remarkable individuals, of which you are one of the best.Īs your poetry matures, You are well instructed as to the subtle I hope you will also keep in mind the sharpness of the occasional direct line. Luke Hahn is a twelfth grade student homeschooled in Waupun, Wisconsin. How charged with punishments the scroll,” Their tongues grow swollen in their throats, A response to William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus,” from which the first two lines of the final stanza are taken.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |