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William Ernest Henley
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William Ernest Henley (23 August 1849 11 July 1903) was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875
poem "Invictus".
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band of contributors, in most instances justified his insight. Charles Whibley was friends with Henley and assisted Henley edit
the Scots Observer and also the National Observer. The journal's outlook was conservative and was often sympathetic to the
growing imperialism of its time, and among other services to literature it published Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads.
Henley died at the age of 53 and was buried in the same churchyard as his daughter in Cockayne Hatley. His wife, Salina
Robinson Henley, was later buried at the same site.
Works
Arguably his best-remembered work is the poem "Invictus", written in 1875. 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 should be
compared with his beautiful and contemplative acceptance of death and dying in the poem "Margaritae Sorori". The poems of In
Hospital are also noteworthy as some of the earliest free verse written in England. With J.S. Farmer Henley edited a seven
volume dictionary of Slang and its analogues which inspired his two translations into thieves' slang of ballades by Francois
Villon.
In 1890, Henley published Views and Reviews, a volume of notable criticisms, which he described as "less a book than a mosaic
of scraps and shreds recovered from the shot rubbish of some fourteen years of journalism". The criticisms, covering a wide
range of authors (all English or French save Heinrich Heine and Leo Tolstoy) were remarkable for their insight. During 1892, he
published a second volume of poetry, named after the first poem, "The Song of the Sword" but re-titled "London Voluntaries"
after another section in the second edition (1893). Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that he had not received the same thrill of
poetry so intimate and so deep since George Meredith's "Joy of Earth" and "Love in the Valley". "I did not guess you were so
great a magician. These are new tunes; this is an undertone of the true Apollo. These are not verse; they are poetry". During
1892, Henley also published three plays written with Stevenson Beau Austin, Deacon Brodie and Admiral Guinea. During
1895, Henley's poem, "Macaire", was published in a volume with the other plays. Deacon Brodie was produced in Edinburgh in
1884 and later in London. Herbert Beerbohm Tree produced Beau Austin at the Haymarket on 3 November 1890.
Henley's poem, "Pro Rege Nostro", became popular during the First World War as a piece of patriotic verse. It contains the
following refrain:
What have I done for you, England, my England?
What is there I would not do, England my own?
The poem and its sentiments have since been parodied by many people often unhappy with the jingoism they feel it expresses
or the propagandistic use it is put to. "England, My England", a short story by D. H. Lawrence and also England, Their England
the novel by A. G. Macdonell both use the phrase.
While incarcerated on Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem "Invictus" to other prisoners and was empowered
by its message of self mastery. In the 2009 movie Invictus, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, the poem is referenced
several times. It becomes the central inspirational gift from Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman, to Springbok rugby team
captain Franois Pienaar, played by Matt Damon, in advance of the post-apartheid Rugby World Cup hosted in 1995 by South
Africa and won by the underdog Springboks.
The famous Finnish female writer Hella Wuolijoki has mentioned in her memoirs Enk ollut vanki that the poem "Invictus" also
inspired and encouraged her during her incarceration in Katajanokka/Skatudden prison in Helsinki at the end of World War II.
External links
Poetry Archive: 137 poems of William Ernest Henley
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
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