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The unwavering resilience it summons in the face of adversity has led to its enduring popularity and use in a variety of contexts. The poem's uncertain relationship with religion and its insistence on individual strength also ties it to issues facing England in the late 19th century.
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A person controls not what happens to them—that is clumsy arrogance and bald egotism—but rather how they respond to what happens to them. In this, a person navigates through life like an undaunted captain navigating confidently through even the trickiest straits.
- Summary
- Invictus Meaning
- Structure
- Literary Devices
- Themes
- Tone and Mood
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Historical Context
- Nelson Mandela and Invictus
- About William Ernest Henley
‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley(Poems)talks about the invincibility of a person who trusts himself or herself. In this poem, the speaker is faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Throughout it all, however, he perseveres and is successful in his endeavors. He faces each challenge with courage and is not afraid, and he can surmount any ...
‘Invictus‘ is a Latin adjective meaning “unconquered, unsubdued, invincible.” It is a combination of two Latin words, “in,” meaning “not, opposite of” and “victus.” The word “victus” has come from the past participle of “vincere,” meaning “to conquer, overcome.” Collectively, the word “Invictus” means one who cannot be conquered, meaning unconquera...
‘Invictus,’ a Victorian poem, is made up of four stanzas and sixteen lines, with four lines in each stanza. It has a set rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gbgb. The poem also has a set metrical pattern. Each line of this poem contains eight syllables, and the stress falls on the second syllable of each foot, a segment of two syllables. Hence, the poem...
The poem begins with a personification. Here, the poet personifies the “night” that covers the speaker in “Black.” In the second line, there is a simile, and the comparison is made between the darkness of night and the color of the pit. The first stanza ends with an ironic note. In the second stanza, the poet uses a metaphorin “fell clutch of circu...
In ‘Invictus,’ W. E. Henley is concerned with several themes such as suffering and rejuvenation, fatalism, free will, homocentrism or anthropocentrism, realism, and agnosticism. The most important theme of the poem is suffering and rejuvenation. Here, the speaker talks about the sufferings in his life and how he conquered everything that came his w...
The overall tone of the poem is optimistic, direct, rational, and ironic. The mood of the poem is dark and gloomy. It seems as if the poet wrote this poem from the perspectiveof a person who is courageously fighting the odds of his or her life in a dark and upsetting phase. Moreover, the mood changes as the poem approaches the end. The expression o...
Stanza One
In the first stanza of ‘Invictus,’ the speaker immediately sets the stage for his reader. He says, “Out of the night that covers me,/Black as the Pit from pole to pole.” Henley’s use of imageryis strong from the very first line of the poem. It is quite easy for the reader to picture a complete night. In these two lines, the poet also creates a metaphor, as the night to which the speaker refers can represent any quandary in which the speaker finds himself. Moreover, it is important here to thi...
Stanza Two
The second stanza is a continuation of the first. Henley writes, “In the fell clutch of circumstance/ I have not winced nor cried aloud.” In other words, the speaker has not allowed himself to become a victim of the events that have transpired in his life. In these lines, Henley personifies circumstance, giving it human-like qualities to show just how tightly the events of one’s life can take hold. Throughout all that he has been dealt with, the speaker has not even cringed or cried about wha...
Stanza Three
The third stanza of ‘Invictus’ takes a darker turn, for the speaker refers to an afterlife that is filled with horror. Henley writes, “Beyond this place of wrath and tears/ Looms but the Horror of the shade.” The speaker seems to be saying here that he knows that what he has endured in this life is nothing compared to what lies ahead in the “shade,” which is a reference to death. He again tells his reader that he does not fear anything. Lines eleven and twelve read, “And yet the menace of the...
Many scholars believe Henley wrote this poem about himself since he wrote it while lying in a hospital bed. Henley was very sick as a young boy, which later resulted in him contracting an infection that spread to his leg. The leg was amputated, and doctors thought they would have to do the same to the other leg, as well, but Henley persuaded anothe...
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, a South African revolutionary and President of South Africa (1994-1999), was influenced by the verbal energy and inspirational elements of Henley’s poem, ‘Invictus’. When he was incarcerated at the Robben Island prison, he recited this poem to other prisoners. The message of self-mastery in this poem touched Mandela deepl...
William Ernest Henley(Poems) was born on 23 August 1849 in Gloucester. He was an English poet, writer, critic, and editor in the late Victorian period. He wrote several books of poetry, but he is most famous for his 1875 poem ‘Invictus.’ From the age of 12, Henley suffered from tuberculosis of the bone. The ailment resulted in the amputation of his...
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"Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). Henley wrote it in 1875, and in 1888 he published it in his first volume of poems, Book of Verses, in the section titled "Life and Death (Echoes)".
Invictus Summary. Nelson Mandela is released from Robben Island after serving twenty-six years of a life sentence for conspiring against the South African state. His release also marks the beginning of the end of apartheid, a general election, and the re-entry of South Africa into the world, including the international sporting events and ...
Sep 6, 2023 · Questions & Answers. Analysis. Invictus Summary. “Invictus” is a short poem first published in 1888 that expresses the speaker’s resolution to remain in control of his own fate. In...
Jun 19, 2024 · What is the central theme of “Invictus”? The central theme of “Invictus” is the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity. The poem emphasizes resilience, courage, and the power of self-determination.
