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INVICTUS BY WILLIAM E HANLEY: POEM ANALYSIS


INVICTUS
(Victorian Poem, By William Ernest Hanley, Inspirational poem for Mandela)

Out of the night covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be for unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning 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 year
Find, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charge with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.






TAK TERKALAHKAN
(puisi kemerdekaan, oleh William Ernest Hanley, puisi inspirasi untuk Mandela)

Di malam yang menyelimutiku,
Segelap lubang yang sangat dalam,
Aku bersyukur atas segala pemberianNya ‘tuk segenap jiwa yang tak tunduk.
Yang jatuh dari genggamanMu
            Aku tak kan berkeluh kesah.
            Di bawah tempaan ujian
            Meski Kepalaku berdarah-darah,
            Namun tetap tak tertunduk.
Di luar tempat amarah dan tangisan ini
Samar namun bayangan yang mengerikan,
Begitu pula ancaman
Temui, dan akan, aku tak takut.
            Keadaan ini bukanlah penghalang,
            Dimana hukuman tiada henti,
Akulah peguasa nasibku:
Akulah pemimpin jiwaku.
           


v  Facts about William Ernest Hanley:
§  Written in 1875, published in 1888
§  At his 12 year, he was diagnosed tubercular arthritis
§  Got amputated in his 25 by dr. Joseph Lister
§  He started to write a poem after he got the surgery

v  The meaning of the poem
§  Theme: Inner strength and perseverance.
§  Background:
The writer’s wanna show the readers that he’s still can defend his life and keep struggling even with his disability. He never give up with his life even he doesn’t have a normal feet any longer. On the contrary, he start to write a poem and become a great writer a long his life.   
§  In the first stanza, the poem told us about someone who thankful to the God of whatever He’s given to him. In whatever condition he is now, he is always grateful for his life. It can be seen in this sentence:
            “Out of the night covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,”
This means that he’s in the deep trouble and feeling so lost and far away from God. He feels that there’s none can help him to get out from the darkness, except God.
“I thank whatever gods may be for unconquerable soul.”
Meanwhile in this sentence, the writer shows us how grateful and thankful he is to God, who has given him the life. Even though he unconquered Him and always opposes his rules, yet He still gives him the best.
§  In the second stanza, describes us about the strength of someone and how stubborn he is. Although there were so many problems and affairs in his life, he’s still stand up straightly as so as his stubbornness. He never complained about what’s going on in his life, nor crying.
“Under the bludgeoning of chance”
If we analyze this sentence, we can see the symbolic meaning, which is describe us that he was under pressure. He had a lot of troubles in his life, and he considered it as the examination to the better life. So he tried to be always strong, not giving up and keep fighting as in the next sentence:
“My head is bloody,
            but unbowed.”
§  As the third stanza of the poem described, it shows us that the writer’s ready for accepting all the kind of problems that might come in the next day. Since life is not always be sweet as its looks. Moreover, he seems ready for the worst condition that might be happened to him. It can be seen that outside of this painful and anger condition, he’s waiting for something terrible. Yet, he never gets angry of it.
§  The writer wants to tell us that someone who can control his life is just himself. No matter what happened before, in the end of the day, his life is just for him. Not for others.
§  In short, the author wanted to shows the inner strength of us. No matter what happened, if we believe we can pass it well, so it is. We don’t have to fear of the problems that might be coming in our life. We just have to keep fighting and stand up straightly, so we can get a better life after this.

v  The physic of the poetry
§  The “Invictus” has four stanzas composed of four lines each. The whole poem describes the theme of being strong man inspired of Mandela (the 1st black-man president of South Africa).
§  Rhymes:
a)      The first stanza                 : a-b-b-c
b)      The second stanza            : a-b-c-d
c)      The third stanza               : a-b-a-b
d)     The forth stanza               : a-b-a-b

v  Poetic devices
§   Imagery:
Out of the night covers me,                    personification
Black as the pit from pole to pole,                     metaphor
I thank whatever gods may be for unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody,                     metaphor
but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the year
Find, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charge with punishment the scroll,                     metaphor
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
§  Alliteration: No
§  Dictions:
a)      Night, black: there’s no one’s awaken to help, lonely and deep feelings.
b)      Pole: so far away
c)      Bloody: so struggling facing his problems, terrifying effects.
d)     Gate, shade, punishment: the obstacles

§  The confusing sentence : My head is bloody, but unbowed.

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