Invictus Essay on Discovery

Henley utilises “Invictus” as a platform to encourage the responder to realise their own personal strength. “Out of the night that covers me”. The ambiguous metaphor of night to suffering of any kind enables the responder to resonate with any hardships they have faced and immediately engages the responder to absorb Henley’s message of finding the strength within. The notion of encouraging the responder to discover their personal strength is continued through “I thank whatever Gods may be/ For my unconquerable soul”. Henley’s utilisation of plural indefinite of “Gods” allows the responder to adhere to their own beliefs and perspectives of the world. It also emphasises that the the responder’s own personal and religious beliefs can alter the meaning of their self discovery. In the final lines of the poem “ I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of soul” Henley’s use of anaphora and the first person pronouns of ‘I’ creates an inclusive tone which when the responder reads inspires them to realise their inner strength.

Henley’s poem “Invictus” explores how the hardships he endured in life contributed to the discovery of his strength and his ability to control his own fate.This idea is manifested through the opening lines of the poem where Henley states through The use of simile and hyperbole in “Black as the Pit from pole to pole,” and the alliteration in “In the fell clutch of circumstance/ I have not winced nor cried aloud” illustrates that the hardships that he has experienced allowed him to discover his inner strength. The comparison of his sufferings to a black pit conveys the severity of his distress and further on when he states that “he has not winced nor cried aloud” demonstrates that the pain he has endured contributed to his new found strength. Henley’s discovery of his capability to decide his destiny is exhibited in “It matters not how strait the gate”. Henley employs the biblical allusion to Matthew 7:14 of “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the...