Invictus- Answer key
Part A
1. What does the ‘night’ signify in the first line of the poem “Invictus”?
Hardships-adversities
2. Whom does the poet thank for his unconquerable soul?
Thankful to Gods
3. What is meant by “place of wrath”?
It refers to the world we live in (earth)
4. How does the narrator call himself?
Master of his fate- captain of his soul
Part B
1. What does the title “Invictus” signify?
‘invictus’ is a Latin word meaning ‘unconquered’- The narrator’s soul is unconquerable-
He is the master of his fate- captain of his soul-the narrator’s perseverance,
determination and fearlessness
2. Comment on the images used in the poem.
Night-represents the hardships-black pit-symbolises darkness and hardship-the narrator
is compared to an animal captured by a predator-the narrator is in the cruel clutch of his
circumstance/fate-bloody head-symbolises his sufferings-‘strait’/ narrow gate-stands for
hardships-‘scroll’ is a metaphor for his fate
3. Comment on the last two lines of the poem.
The narrator tells that he is the master of his fate-the captain of his soul-nobody can
conquer his soul-He remains undefeated no matter how unfavourable the situation is-
He is in charge of his life
4. Bring out the words of suffering in the poem “Invictus”.
‘Night’-‘black pit’-‘fell clutch of circumstance’-‘bloody head’-‘menace of the years’-‘strait
gate’-‘scroll’ with the list of punishments-‘winced nor cried aloud’-‘bludgeoning’-‘horror
of the shade’
Part C
1. How does the poem become a manifesto of the poet’s life?
Poet lost his left leg below the knee owing to tuberculosis of the bone-stayed at the
hospital- the poem deals with his traumatic experiences-his fight with fate-his soul is
unconquerable- He is the master of his fate- captain of his soul-the narrator’s
perseverance, determination and fearlessness
(Add a critical summary of the poem mentioning the images, biblical allusion etc.)
2. Comment on the biblical allusion in the poem.
Henley begins the final stanza with a biblical allusion-“It matters not how strait the
gate”-(Matthew 7: 13-14), where Jesus says “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”-It means
that the way to eternal life is so narrow and difficult that very few will find it.
Also the line “charged with punishments the scroll”-scroll is used as a metaphor for his
fate or life-the scroll of his fate is full of punishments-this suggests his sufferings-this is
an instance of biblical allusion-It can be connected to the biblical idea that all of a
human’s deeds in life, both good and bad are written down in a book or scroll-We find
this in the Bible, in Revelation 20: 12
Henley uses allusions to signify that it does not matter how difficult the life is, he
controls the course of his own inner life-his soul is unconquerable
(Add a critical summary of the poem)
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