Several have endeavored to explain the debatable subject about how much of what happens in our lives we control. Various individuals believe that our lives are predestined, and others conclude that we have to work for our success, implying that our actions lead up to the occurrences in our lives. In “Invictus,” written by William Ernest Henley and the poem “Luck is not Chance,” composed by Emily Dickinson, both poems prove the idea that people have control over their lives. Henley illuminates that one determines their fate or destiny through their coping technique. Correspondingly, Dickinson emphasizes that people control their success through whether they want to work for it, in spite of the fact that many tend to reject the idea of working hard. While Dickinson’s use of rhetoric delineates her message, Henley’s better use of poetic devices better portrays his message because the way he expresses his content is more effectual and compelling. …show more content…
Dickinson delivers her message through rhetorical devices such as personification and metaphorical expressions, as seen in the line, “[f]ortune’s expensive smile is earned,” (Dickinson, 3-4). From this line, it can be seen that she compares “fortune” with success, denoting that success is hard to come by, personifying it with the phrase “expensive smile,” connoting that to meet attainment, one would have to earn it through dedication and diligence. Dickinson also used poetic structure such as assonance and consonance, slant rhyme. It is discerned throughout the poem in the terms “toil and smile, mine and coin, and earned and spurned,” (Dickinson, 2-7). This slant rhyme creates an emphasis on important terms, allowing her to convey her message that we have to work hard for our success, because of the rhyme’s unique