Adversity In Poetry

Everyone faces some sort of personal strife throughout their life whether it is small or big is all that varies. It is because of this hardship that writers and philosophers across the centuries have theorized what is the best way to deal with adversity. Two late Victorian writers, William Ernest Henley and Rudyard Kipling, add their own philosophies to the mix through their poems. Henley argues in his poem “Invictus” that no matter what happens, a person must always remember that they are the master of their own fate and they must always stand tall. In contrast, Kipling in his poem “If” maintains that to face adversity a man must find the middle ground in everything he does. Henley’s solution to adversity is superior considering that it is

This universal solution provided can apply to a myriad of situations without consequence. “Invictus” closes with two lines that highlight the meaning of the poem and presents Henley’s overall solution to adversity: “I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul” (Henley 15-16). Henley is simply stating that no matter the situation an individual must always remember that only you can control your ultimate fate. Overall throughout his poem, as Poetry for Students notes, “Henley insists throughout “Invictus” that he is the one in charge of his life, despite the fact that he is powerless to control its circumstances” (Henley). “If”, on the other hand, falls short on its solution because while it may be useful to strive for the middle ground, it infers that if you cannot then you have failed. This inference comes from the use of the word “if” meaning “on the condition of”. Therefore, Kipling is stating that if this boy is able to do this he will be a man, if he cannot then he is not a man. This guideline is hard to follow when facing adversity and “the sheer number of obstacles that the speaker suggests his son will have to face attests to the poem's harsh vision of human nature and destiny… the son must meet the challenges proffered by this hostile world with courage and stoicism if he is to live with dignity” (“If”). All the obstacles that

The line that seems the most improbable is line number 8, “And yet don’t look to good, nor talk to wise”. The reason this seems be an improbable task is that not looking too good or talking to wise are subjective opinions. For example, if the son were talking to a beggar with few clothes and little proper English his perception is quite different, than if he was talking to a noble man with years of proper education. There are contradictions such as this riddled throughout the poem thus making it seem as if “becoming a man appears to be an insurmountable task” (“If”). It would take an extraordinary man to be able to get close to being able to accomplish what Kipling is asking for. Poetry for Students affirms this claim by stating that Kipling’s “ideal hero could combine a stoic perseverance with self-reliant individualism to accomplish these goals… but, the effort seems as if it would require Herculean skills and self-control” (“If”). Henley’s poem “Invictus” evades the pitfall that “If” fell into by not giving any exact way that an individual has to go about making choices. The only advice the poem gives out is that no matter what happens or what chance throws at you, you have to stand tall: “under the bludgeoning of chance / My head is bloody, but unbowed” (Henley 7-8). “Invictus” does not simply give someone a list of rules