INVICTUS Poem – What Morgan Freeman is Saying In The Movie Trailer

We received some questions on the origin of the words spoken by Morgan Freeman in the trailer for INVICTUS starring Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, and directed by Clint Eastwood.

It turns out that this is a poem from the English Poet William Ernest Henley. It was first published in 1875.

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.

According to Wikipedia, this is the story behind the poem:

At the age of 12, Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians had announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 53. “Invictus” was written from a hospital bed despite Henley’s condition.

Invictus Synopsis: A look at life for Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen.

Invictus will be released to theaters on December 11, 2009. Check out the trailer below..