Nelson Mandela recited the poem ‘Invictus’ to himself and
his fellow inmates often while he was in prison. Mr. Mandela credited the poem
with helping him to remain hopeful. Memorizing poetry is no longer commonplace,
but
The New Yorker Page-Turner blog explores
the benefits of committing verse to memory.
Invictus
by William Ernest Henley
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.
