INVICTUS

(Willian Ernest Henley)

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 bludgeoning 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.

Title:
The strong, resilient enunciation of the poem’s title carries a remarkable effect from the outset,
emphasizing Henley’s intention to show might in the face of adversity. The Latin, powerful-
sounding Invictus ‘s definition is no less noticeable: the “unconquerable. “
 Theme:
The theme of the poem is the will to survive in the face of a severe test. Henley himself faced
such a test. After contracting tuberculosis of the bone in his youth, he suffered a tubercular
infection when he was in his early twenties that resulted in amputation of a leg below the knee.
When physicians informed him that he must undergo a similar operation on the other leg, he
enlisted the services of Dr. Joseph Lister (1827-1912), the developer of antiseptic medicine. He
saved the leg. During Henley’s twenty-month ordeal between 1873 and 1875 at the Royal
Edinburgh Infirmary in Scotland, he wrote “Invictus” and other poems. Years later, his friend
Robert Louis Stevenson based the character Long John Silver (a peg-legged pirate in the
Stevenson novel Treasure Island) on Henley.

Analysis of Invictus

In the first stanza, Henley refers to the “night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole”
(lines 1 and 2); this night is generally a metaphor for the hardships and problems of a worldly
existence, but the line could clearly be understood at the discretion of the reader by assigning the
night any of negative roles (any particular hardship that may encompass a person’s entire life,
such as a handicap like Henley’s; persistent, taxing responsibilities; or sustained emotional
injury). The next line, “the pit from pole to pole” is a basic way of likening the darkness (or the
difficulty) of the night to the lightless, deep desolation of the center of the earth, and its meaning
does not require any change as understanding of the poem changes. Lines 3 and 4, “I thank
whatever gods may be/for my unconquerable soul,” parallel the title and introduce the poem’s
primary focus. By suggesting that the soul is the creation of a higher power, the line reinforces
the theme of the unconquerable by associating the soul with the interminable. Some critics have
argued that line 3 is hard proof of the author’s agnosticism, but other interpretations have left the
statement as a choice in poetic device rather than a religious preference, even hailing the poem as
one not quite contradictory (as agnostic analyses contend) to conventional Christianity.
Regardless of this, Henley definitely intended to carry the meaning of his poetry to the spiritual
level, which is further explored in the third stanza.

The second stanza bears the image of a hapless victim whose predators are the violent
“circumstance” and “chance”; both abstract concepts are solidified by lines 6-9. Line 6, “In the
fell clutch of circumstance,” followed by line 7, “I have not winced nor cried aloud” immediately
instills an image of an animal captured by the “fell clutch” of a predatory bird. The circumstance,
in Henley’s case, was likely a reference to his unfortunate condition but, much like the many
parts of the poem, is manipulable to personal perspective. Though cursed with a great burden, he
did not “wince nor cry aloud,” that is, complain vociferously about his pain, as an animal carried
away would squeal to its demise. Then Chance, in lines 8-9, appears with a baseball bat to do his

damage: “Under the bludgeoning of chance/my head is bloody, but unbowed.” Henley’s choice
of imagery best describes any case of one downtrodden by misfortune who has not conceded due
to events that transpire beyond his control, much as a hardy prisoner beaten by his captors would
not allow his head to bow in defeat.

Both warning and consoling, the third stanza brings in something past that introduced in the
second, showing a more spiritual side of the poem: “Beyond this place of wrath and tears/looms
the Horror of the shade” (lines 11 and 12). The “place of wrath and tears” of which Henley
writes is the world we live in, the place where we are the prey of circumstance and the prisoners
of chance. Beyond it, however, Henley suggests that there is more by expressing his belief in an
afterlife, but he does not simply relegate the “Beyond” to simple optimism. Line 12’s “Horror of
the shade” is the unknown that is across the threshold of life and death that may hold more
hardships for the soul yet, and it is undoubtedly a concept explored by many poets. “The menace
of the years” (Line 13), of course, is the expiration of our worldly time, the end of which would
mark the beginning of the journey to the shade beyond. To this, Henley holds defiantly that this
imminent end “finds, and shall find him unafraid.” This disregard for fear is a declaration of
acceptance of all that will come at the expiration of the flesh.

Possibly the most famous and memorable of all, the fourth stanza is the poem’s final affirmation
of spiritual fortitude. Lines 16 and 17 are strongly associated with Christian ideas and images. “It
matters not how strait the gate” (line 16) contains a direct biblical allusion: “Strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Line 16 is not a contradiction of the straight and narrow path, but rather an acceptance of its
challenge, similar to that in the third stanza. “Scroll,” in line 17, again alludes to heavenly
imagery; it does not matter what punishments one may bear from life and the afterlife as long as
one is confidently in control. The bold, fearless end to the poem is an affirmation that, as the
decision-makers in our lifetimes, we are the sole authorities over ourselves, and a powerful line
that seems to have a wide variety of applications for any situation. Left in context and even if
taken slightly out of context of the poem, its intense implications of power (“master” and
“captain”) in combination with its subjects (the fate and the soul, things that are normally
implied to be beyond our reach) give the final stanza an intrinsic quality found in all things
frequently quoted as words of strength, such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “We have nothing
to fear but fear itself.” Coincidentally enough, FDR was known to quote the concluding couplet
of Invictus himself when asked how he dealt with his struggle with polio.
 Literary Elements found in Invictus

-16 lines
-four stanza's
-abab-cdcd-efefef-ghgh rhyme scheme
-Lyrical poem

Symbols

Night- death, challenge, suffering

Pit- deep dark abyss
Gate- ones lifelong path
shade- ones chance of suffering
Master- He remains in charge
Captain- he leads himself where to go

Alliteration

Black as the Pit from pole to pole-PPP

In the fell clutch of circumstance-CC
My head is bloody, but unbowed.-BBB

Tone

Depending on how the reader interprets the poem Invictus the tone varies.
Invictus could be taken as a hopeful poem for those suffering, constantly being reminded that
you are the "Captain of you soul" and that it is you choosing to live in pain or be brave when
facing a challenge.
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears" refers that the writer has hope for the after life.
"Finds, and shall find, me unafraid" refers to the fearlessness of the writer
"My head is bloody, but unbowed." refers to his courage to fight