(Nelson Mandela graces the Time magazine cover May 9, 1994)
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.
(From “Invictus,” Latin for “Unconquered”)
**William Ernest Henley wrote this poem, in 1875, where he lay in a hospital bed, a young man diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone. The only way to save his life was to amputate his leg from the knee down, and doctors performed that life-saving surgery. In his suffering, Henley wrote the poem “Invictus”. It has since become a classic that gives all–even life’s most oppressed–the will to go on.
“Invictus,” the movie, took its name from that poem. It stars Morgan Freeman as South African President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Plenaar, the captain of the rugby team. It details events revolving around South Africa’s win of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Why was that win such an historical achievement? First off, the South African team, the Springboks, evidenced little likelihood of winning, for Australia, England, and New Zealand were heavily favored to beat them. Then, too, the nation was divided. Mandela knew the team needed the support of white Afrikaners, as well as blacks, but with his presidency, unity of those forces seemed impossible.
In a stunningly cohesive move, President Nelson Mandela’s tapped Francois Plenaar, the white captain of the Springbok team, to join with him at a pivotal point, thus inspiring the nation. As a result, the Springbok team toured the nation, visiting youth groups everywhere, instilling in them pride for their national team. The outcome? Against a backdrop of bi-racial nationalistic pride, the Springboks beat the opposing teams to claim the title.
But rugby was just part of the movie’s focus. Its real message was Nelson Mandela’s perseverance, following his own life journey of oppression.
Nelson Mandela, son to a tribal chief, was a college-educated man who went on to achieve his law degree. In 1944, he joined the African National Party, a resistance group who opposed the (white) National Party’s apartheid policies, after 1944. Because of his public stand against segregationist policies, he went on trial for alleged ‘treasonous acts,’ and in 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment—doing hard labor for those supposed crimes.
For almost 30 years, from 1964-1982, he spent long days on Robbens Island penal colony in the blistering son of the limestone quarries, chipping rock. His cell was a spartan 8′ X 8′ enclosure. Following that period, he was held captive at Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland. During those years, his reputation grew, for he steadfastly refused to compromise his political position to gain his freedom.
Mandela was finally released in February of 1990, and in 1991, at the 1st. national conference of the ANC (held outside South Africa), he was elected President. That event could have precipitated civil war but upon ascending power, Mandela found a way to unify his country—through sports. He bore no ill will towards his captors but embraced all factions in a drive to unify his nation. He was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
How did the poem “Invictus” affect him? In his 3-decades-long imprisonment, those words (of poet Henley) gave him strength to carry on, despite his terrible circumstances. The great ones find a way to use life’s hardships as building blocks in their journey….
***Send this article to one you feel is bruised and buckled by life crises; it will give that person much-needed hope, and please feel free to COMMENT, too…Just click on “Leave Comment” section or “View Comments.” No log-in necessary and e-mail address is never shared.
The great ones find a way to use life’s hardships as building blocks in their journey….(Biddy)
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.
(William)
Powerful words from two great writers!
We all have our personal battles…and its people like you and William that keep people like ME going!
I needed to read those powerful words of hope tonight as a reminder that I CAN BE the Master of my fate.
I am honored to have you include me in such august company as William Henley, and I know, too, that life’s trials have made me who I am, though I never wanted to go through the difficulties. At the end of the day, these uphill battles have given me new perspective, if only to appreciate the small meaningful times of good friends, close familial support, my husband, a person who has stood by me through many trials. I don’t need profound things in this life (in fact, I pretty much reject them), and because I know this, I feel very fortunate since others chase crazy dreams forever…Stay strong, friend…You are important to many.
Terrible injustice often makes heroes who never planned to be in the spotlight.@
I emigrated to and lived in Cape Town for several years before Apartheid fell and, even though I was London born and bred , I felt as if the place was home . I loved it for its beauty, its warmth and the friends I had made. However, when my son was born, I felt the undercurrents of apartheid so strongly that the urge was to leave and go back to London even though I did not want to. As always children guide your future. I kept in touch with a few of my friends in Cape Town (and still do) and followed closely the smooth bloodless transition of one government to the next with Nelson Mendala as its president.
Unfortunately, it is not the case today. murder, rapes, hi-jackings are rampant. The ANC has been high-jacked by, should I say, a marxist government, and I fear greatly for the white population’s future. Gated communities have sprung up everywhere and even a friend who built a house in Newlands with a white picket fence ,while I was there, a supposedly wealthy neighbourhood, now has six foot high walls with barbed wire AND an alarm system and has still been broken into 8 times in the past year.
I thank God every day for giving me and my family the opportunity to come to the United States . We, here, are fortunate indeed. God bless America.
I went to a talk the other night by one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who spoke about the horror he and his young compatriots (thousands) suffered as they made their march from the war-torn regions of Sudan. Little could the international community do (George Clooney speaks to that point in his zeal to help others) as the UN and others must follow prescribed regulations and often times the supplies and money are stolen and never make it to the intended recipients. Yes, apartheid is so wrong, subjugation of others is wrong, and it happens all too often. Just the Darwinian pecking order, I surmise played out before all of us. I fear we see it replayed in Haiti as many wonder “Where did the money go?” (that was sent in as relief effort) Too many predators in the world today who get ever more bolder….
I have heard “master of my fate…captain of my soul” so many times and never knew where it was from. And then you tell us it was from some poet who is hardly remembered in the way of Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, Longfellow, Shakespeare..I thought these lines were more some quotation from Moby Dick, to tell you the truth. I wonder how many other things I’m wrong about.