Invictus and The Alchemist Response Essay

The verse form Invictus write by William Ernest Henley is a verse written approximately courage in the face of destruction and property on to ones own dignity despite the indignities spirit places before us. In the first stanza the poems speaker prays in the dark to whatever gods may be a orison of thanks for his unconquerable soul. some(prenominal) things are apparent from the outset First, the speaker is in some shape of metaphorical darkness, perhaps the darkness of despair. Second, he does non pray for strength, save gives thanks for the strength that he already has. Third, he seems rather flippant about who he is or is non praying to it is almost a prayer to himself at this point, except not quite.Henley besides bring this up in the second stanza where he talks about Gods go out or even fate instead he speaks of the fell appreciation of circumstance and insists that he has overcome these bravely and without complaint.The third stanza is about death and what a tr ifle it seems to the speaker of the poem. This place of offense and tears, this life, it seems, is not full enough of pain and horror to frighten the poems speaker. And death, the Horror of the shade, could not possibly worry him, being an terminate to wrath and tears. Notice here that he is not concerned in any way about an afterlife. Death is merely an expiry to miserable for our speaker. Nothing of any concern seems to lie beyond for him until.This poem is an brainchild to it readers depending on the way you read it. This poem like work forcetioned before has been written for those suffering from an incurable disease or just going thru a tough time in their life, to give that person some desire and strength. I Can relate to this poem because growing up ive been threw lots of illnesses it all started when i was diagnosed with Meningococcal Meningitis when i was just a baby. Than at the age of 16 i was diagnosed with Hereditary Breast Cancer.Going thru this i felt so alone an d like my life hit a point of no return i lost hope and doctrine. I felt helpless and i also felt bad for my family making them so worried about me. Nevertheless i have not let this bring me down or think twice about anything that i set my mind to do. I have enlisted in the Marines and hoping to take out to boot camp in september. Going threw everything ive been threw in my life has definitely taught me that everything in life comes in threes , but at the end of the day if you fall down seven times you must name up eight , because you cant let life struggles take in in the way of your Personal legend.This Poem is also related to the Alchemist. capital of Chile hits a point in his journey where he feels like hes losing himself .The alchemist prepares to move on with Santiago to the pyramids, but Santiago complains that he doesnt want to leave Fatima. The alchemist says Fatima understands that Santiago inescapably to complete his Personal Legend. at this point Santiago gets frust rated with the alchemist because he doesnt want to leave fatima behind. Another point where santiago loses faith in his journey is towards the end where He feels frustrated that the alchemist didnt pick up him anything, but the alchemist says Santiago should have learned with actions.Santiago asks him wherefore he is an alchemist, and the alchemist explains he learned the practice from his grandfather, when alchemy was simpler. He says men complicated alchemy by writing books about it. Previously, alchemists only essential the Emerald Tablet. Santiago asks what the tablet says, and the alchemist replies that one cant understand it through reason since it provides a passage to the Soul of the World. The alchemist encourages Santiago to immerse himself in the desert and listen to his heart so he can also gain an understanding of the Soul of the World but at the end of the book santiago continues his journey and finds his treasure than makes his way back to fatima. This relates to the poem because it talks about where a persons life goes threw so many obstacles but at the end still overcomes those hard times.