Invictus by William Ernest Henley - Essay Example

By making his own person the subject of the poem, the author gives us the sense without specific detail that real events are alluded to throughout the poem. The feeling that this is a real person overcoming real problems lends “Invictus” great emotive power. The second theme is that of opposition. The author establishes this in the opening lines of the poem where we read, “Out of the night that covers me/Black as the Pit from pole to pole,” (1-2). No source of this darkness that covers the author is ever identified. The third theme introduced in the first stanza is that of the “unconquerable soul” (4). This theme recurs at the end of each four-line stanza as a beacon of hope for the reader of the poem, and perhaps it did for the author as well when he wrote it.

Each stanza following the first returns to these three important themes. Henley stays firmly in the first person throughout the poem. But the themes of opposition and triumph over that opposition are nuanced and expounded upon in the final three stanzas. The author alludes to the, “fell clutch of circumstance” (5) at the beginning of the second stanza. This adds emotional weight to the opposition mentioned at the beginning of the poem by suggesting that the adverse situation the author finds himself in is not of his own doing. Chance has intervened in his life in the most horrible way. By clearing the subject of the poem from wrongdoing or negligence, the reader of the poem is enticed to have greater empathy for the subject. Everyone can relate to having bad things happen in their lives that were beyond their control. This acquittal from fault for the subject of the poem also enhances the achievements of the unconquerable soul. Overcoming and defying despair in the face of obstacles you have created for yourself is expected behavior for a mature, well-adjusted member of society. The admirable behavior is recognized when one defies the misfortune life hands to you that is not of your own making.

Henley has truly created a masterpiece of personal triumph in “Invictus”. The author expresses his real determination to never yield to the opposition presented in each stanza, even when that opposition is none other than death itself. Henley writes, “Beyond this place of wrath and tears/Looms but the Horror of the shade” (9-10) but ends the stanza by declaring defiantly that the menacing years of life will continue to find him “unafraid” (10). Peering into the eternities, the author seems to be first gazing back on his life to examine the hardships he has overcome. The final, memorable lines succinctly describe the author’s confident outlook when he states, “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul” (15-16). “Invictus” or “unconquered” in Latin is exactly what the author seems to be encouraging us all to be in this poem. Read More