Invictus: The Battle Cry of the Prideful Heart
By: John Thomas
Tags: Christianity, Spirituality, Poetry, Religion, Culture

In the year 1876, while in the hospital to receive treatment for tuberculosis, British poet and avowed atheist William Ernest Henley wrote his most enduring work, Invictus. The poem is one of the most famous in the English language and many facing adversity have drawn strength from the poems defiant tone. However, in reality it is a testament to the soul’s propensity to rely on itself rather than seek help from anywhere else. We could call this pride. The poem’s last lines especially bear witness to humanity’s defiant nature and desire to be in control:

“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.”

The poem has been cited and recited over the course of the century and a half since it was written. It is the title for the 2009 movie about Nelson Mandela. In the movie, Morgan Freeman, who plays Mandela, recites the poem, as Mandela himself did while he was in prison.

In many ways the poem is the perfect embodiment of our current existential cultural moment. We live in a time in history where, to borrow a line from former Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” In denying the existence of God, our culture finds meaning in the only place that can be counted on to exist, the self. In that way Invictus is a type of modern day Psalm for secular humanism.

In this religion, heroes are those who draw strength from within in order to master their fate and captain their soul. As one writer noted, this narrative is so prevalent in our society it represents just about every superhero story that has ever been written. Whereas the hero used to fulfill duty, draw strength from a higher power, and then save the world, in our culture,

“We face a moral and practical imperative: discover who you are so that you are empowered to face the world. The Identity Quest is the Hero’s Journey.”

There is one problem with this cultural narrative and with the poem Invictus: it is nonsense. As Jon Bloom wrote about the poem at Desiring God,

“Invictus is decent poetry, but as a declaration of cosmic independence it is, frankly, a delusional fantasy. Even if God didn’t exist, it would be a fantasy. In what possible way could Henley reasonably claim to be the master of his fate, being subject to a thousand forces beyond his control?”

Bloom isn’t the only one who objects to the poem. Around 50 years after Henly wrote Invictus, Dorothea Day wrote a poetic response to Henley’s piece. Day’s version My Captain mimics Henley’s and ends with:

“I have no fear, though strait the gate, He cleared from punishment the scroll. Christ is the Master of my fate, Christ is the Captain of my soul.”

More recently, hip-hop artist Lecrae voiced a rebuke to the prideful notion of controlling one’s destiny, using two lines from Henley’s poem to show how empty the way of pride really is. In the 2010 song, Background, Lecrae raps, “I had a dream that I was captain of my soul/I was master of my fate, lost control, and then I sank.”

While Day, Lecrae, and Bloom all offer great insight on the shaky foundation Invictus is built on, it is another, earlier, work that completely exposes Henley’s poem for what it is, and simultaneously offers a better way.

Like Henley, King David authored a Psalm of his one during a period of deep darkness. But instead of drawing on his inner strength, in Psalm 23, David writes humbly, comparing himself not to a master or a captain, but to a sheep, and draws his strength from God.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

To be sure, David’s words carry a certain defiant flavor, but that defiance is directed towards his enemies, not God. “I will fear no evil…” “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies…”

Whereas Henley’s poem is an ode to pride, David’s Psalm is a ballad of humility. Atheists and secular humanists draw strength from within, the only well they recognize. Christians on the other hand, acknowledge that in our own strength we are empty cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). We are not shepherds but sheep.

It pains me to picture Henley, suffering greatly from tuberculosis, picking up a pen and defiantly writing these words, “a poetic middle finger to the cosmos,” a “metaphysical temper tantrum.” In our day, in our suffering, may we not posture our hearts towards such defiant pride, but clothe ourselves with humility, even in the face of suffering. Yes, we are like sheep, weak and helpless, but there is a shepherd that comes for, and lays down his life for his sheep (John 11). Because of that, as humble, little sheep, we are far stronger than any master of fate or captain of soul could ever hope to be.

John Thomas is a freelance writer. His writing has appeared at Mere Orthodoxy, Christianity Today, and Desiring God. He writes regularly at medium.com/soli-deo-gloria.

His recent articles include: