Under the bludgeoning of Chance · My head is bloody but unbowed

Martin Eden’s recitation of “Under the bludgeoning of Chance / My head is bloody but unbowed” turns a brief exchange about fear into a discussion of courage and literary taste. Brissenden identifies the lines with Henley, whom he sets apart from magazine rhymesters, while Martin’s response exposes a tension between Brissenden’s disdain for magazines and Martin’s own relationship to them.

The Expression in Context

After Brissenden repeats Martin’s word “Afraid?”, Martin answers aloud with the two lines. Their language of endurance gives his reply a defiant cast; the quotation is not explained further, but Brissenden immediately recognizes the poet and treats Martin’s choice as fitting.

Brissenden’s Response

Brissenden praises Henley as a brave soul and contrasts him with contemporary magazine rhymesters, comparing the poet’s distinction to that of a gladiator among eunuchs. The response makes the quotation a point of literary judgment as well as a statement of courage: Brissenden admires a kind of writing he considers absent from the magazines.

The Exchange About Magazines

Martin softly observes that Brissenden dislikes the magazines. Brissenden answers by challenging Martin on whether he likes them, and does so with enough savagery to startle him. The exchange leaves the quotation suspended between shared admiration for Henley and an unresolved difference over the literary marketplace.