In the late 1800s, British writer William Ernest Henley penned his most famous poem, “Invictus,” which Invictus Games organizers say perfectly captures “the indefatigable human spirit” at the heart of the event .
Below is line-by-line analysis of “Invictus.” Click on the highlighted lines to learn more about the history and literary significance of the poem.
Invictus 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 bludgeonings 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. The poem was originally untitled when it was first published in 1888. But, when it was republished in 1900, a publisher gave it the title Invictus, which means "undefeated" or "unconquerable" in Latin. T o fully understand this poem, it ' s important to acknowledge the struggles Henley faced early in life. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with a debili - tating tuberculosis of the bone. In his mid-20s, Henley underwent surgery to amputate one of his legs just below the knee. He wrote this poem while recovering in hospital. By beginning the poem with "the night that covers me," Henley illustrates the weight of his struggle. "From pole to pole" describes the pervasive nature of his physical hardship, and the idea that his entire body is completely wracked with pain. The first stanza establishes Henley' s thesis: He is consumed by physical struggle, but his soul remains locked away and resilient, or "unconquerable." Henley chooses each word carefully , and "clutch of circumstance" implies that, while his pain is real, no one is to blame. He refuses to credit fate or a higher power for the random nature of disease. For a man living in the late 1800s, being in hospital — let alone losing a leg — would have been debilitating, and likely to spur feelings of shame. Henley refuses to give in to self-loathing. Instead, he holds his head high, or "unbowed." Henley doesn't mince words over his extended hospital stay, describing it as a place of "wrath and tears." But literary scholars say that, beyond the literal, Henley is referring to the petty struggles of the world and the ways in which everyone, at one point or anothe r , falls victim to the random circumstances of life. Henley acknowledges that his amputation is only the beginning of his worldly struggles. He anticipates that he will face the "Horror of the shade" — an allusion to depression, loneliness and possibly societal neglect — in years to come. He is more pragmatic than optimistic about how his life will change. Much like the first two stanzas, which mirror the same A-B-A-B rhyming pat - tern, Henley ends on a line of defiance. Not only will he be unafraid of what is to come, he is unafraid at the very moment of writing. The last lines of the poem are possibly the most famous, and they are steeped in religious meaning. "How strait the gate" refers to Matthew 7:13-14: "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the wa y , which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Literary scholars say Henley isn't defying the idea of a hard path in life, but accepting its di f ficulties. "The scroll" is another reference to the unavoidable pain of living — those punishments, or struggles, that he considers part of the human condition. The final two lines sum up Henley' s existential manifesto. He, not luck, is in control of his destin y , and he alone has control over how he responds to what life throws his wa y . He flatly refuses the fate of victimhood and vows to face his future with confidence and conviction.
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