Invictus

By William Ernest Henley

= a poem in four-lined stanzas , 16 lines.
Your Challenge : In groups, fill in the blanks with the missing adjectives or
nouns / find the connecting words expressing contrast/
opposition/concession that would fit in the blanks .
Nouns :
horror - grip - soul spirit - spirits - darkness - depression age- Hell -
suffering - metaphor - hyperbole face fear- fight- chance- disease -theme
-evil master- anger- death- afterlife- fate - weakness blackness link
lines test- alliteration will stanzas - shade
Adjectives:
hard -high- passionate - hopeful- deadly - thankful - unconquered
restricted- unconquerable unafraid - hellish - difficult- invincible
victorious - responsible - undefeated patient- narrow- tough - grateful
brave- painful- determined
linkwords
No matter - Despite - regardless of - instead - lthough - though - even
though - !hatever - yet
Theme : The theme of the poem is the will to survive in the face of a severe test.
Henley himself faced such a test.
1
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconuerable soul.
!omments, "tan#a $
Darkness is a metaphor for evil, and perhaps depression, "The Pit" is
Hell. Night is a metaphor for suffering of an kind. It is also part of a
simile and a hyperbole in whi!h the speaker !ompares the darkness of
his suffering to the blackness of a hellish pit stret!hing from the north
pole to the south pole. Alliteration o!!urs in Pit from pole to pole . In line ", the
ad#e!ti$e unconuerable establishes the theme and a link with the title
%!N"!#$%&&'(atin for unconuerable ' unconuered
'invincible'undefeated ). *ere the writer, is $er thankful and grateful
to the +ods for his "unconuerable soul" . (hatever bodil ad$ersit he
fa!es, his soul will remain unconuered. *enle was able to be thankful
that , although his bod was beaten, his soul wasn,t.
2
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
%nder the bludgeonings of chance
&y head is bloody, but unbowed.
!omments, "tan#a '
The se!ond $erse repeats the theme, the bod ma be broken, but not
the spirit ')ell = bad or evil)This stan-a begins with another metaphor,
!omparing circumstance to a !reature with a deadly grip 'fell clutch).
Alliteration o!!urs in clut!h, !ircumstan!e, and cried, in not and nor, and
in bludgeonings, blood, but, and unbowed. The poet is des!ribing
someone who has had a hard life. The ha$e en!ountered man troubles
and circumstances, and yet the ha$e ne$er gi$en up. .*ludgeoning. has
the definition of beating. *enle is impling that someone has been
beaten down. Despite horrible !ir!umstan!es, *enle refused to let life
defeat him. !nstead, he rose up and fought ba!k/ *e has high spirits '
"tre de bonne humeur), regardless of what has happened. $hough it
hurts reall bad, he ne$er !omplains. No matter how painful it is, he is
still strong. (hatever ma ha$e happened to him, he is still hopeful.
3
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
(ooms but the Horror of the shade,
)nd yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
!omments, "tan#a *
The third $erse talks about the "Place of wrath and tears" referring to life
as '(rath + anger) and also to the ,Horror of the &hade" whi!h is a
poeti! expression for Death '&hade = a ghost or spirit) . In line 10, shade
is a metaphor for death. In this same line, horror suggests that the
speaker belie$es in an afterlife - If there were no afterlife, there !ould be
no horror after death. %.enace of the years# is a metaphor for advancing
age. This stan-a states that even though he ma not know what is to
!ome, he is unafraid , he is brave and read for life.
4
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.
!omments, "tan#a ,
*ere, "&trait the gate" is a bibli!al referen!e. &trait means narrow,
restricted. To es!ape %from the fell clutch of circumstance %and
bludgeonings of chance& 'coups de la fortune), the speaker must pass
through a narrow gate.
The last two lines repeat the main theme, that a person is responsible
for their self, whatever happens in life. No matter what the en!ounter
in life, or whatever life throws at them, the are the /captain of their
soul 1 the !an manage their own life. The last senten!e states, that
even though his future ma be established due to the disease, he will
!ontinue on and !ontrol his own fate . No matter the !hallenges and
obsta!les *enle had to fa!e in his life, he o$er!ame them and was the
master of his fate. Despite all odds, he took !ontrol of his destin and
!ame out victorious.
The poem shows how passionate and unconuere! Henley was regar!less of the pain he had to endure . He
was desperately !etermine! .
2fter reading this poem %In$i!tus& b 3illiam 4rnest *enle, it is !lear that
the poet is telling us that tough !hallenges are going to !ome a!ross ou
in life, but no matter how hard, ou must fa!e them with our head high.
If ou lose a !hallenge and show fear, ou are gi$ing in and losing the
battle and showing weakness. !nstead, keep our head up and ou will
win the fight, but ou must be patient. The poet shows that life ma be
difficult for e$erone but ou !an,t #ust gi$e up when it gets tough.
How is the poem Invictus related to the movie invictus?
Explain to what extent Invictus is a poem ou can relate to ?