Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Written Report by Eugene F. Toribio

About the Author

o William Ernest Henley (1849 1903)
o From the age of 12, Henley suffered from
tuberculosis of the bone that resulted in the
amputation of his left leg below the knee.
o His daughter died at the age of 5 of cerebral
meningitis.
o Invictus was written while Henley was on a
hospital bed after the amputation of his leg.

The Poem
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Lyric poem in four quatrains

William Ernest Henley wrote it in 1875
Was not published until 1892 in a collection entitled Echoes
Initially untitled
In 1900, Arthur Quiller-Couch included the poem along with the title
Invictus
in his book The Oxford Book of English Verse.
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.

Analysis
o Invictus is Latin for unconquered.
o 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.
He is describing the troubles in his early life. He is covered
pole to pole with something terrible. Yet his soul remains
unhindered.
Night is a metaphor for suffering of any kind.
Pit means hell.
o In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
To bludgeon is to beat. So he is saying that even though he
has been harshly treated by fate, he is still standing proud.
o 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.
He is stating that even though he doesnt know what is to
come, he is unafraid and ready for life.
o 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.
Biblical Allusion: Strait is the gate and narrow the way that
leads to eternal life. (Matthew 7:14)
Strait means narrow or difficult.
Even though his future is uncertain because of his disease, he
will continue to control his own fate and soul with whatever
time he still has.
o THEME: We control our destiny.