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Keiran Brook
Ms. Curmano
Honors Freshman English
8 February 2015
Unconquerable

The poem Invictus By William Earnest Henley is a harsh whipping, but knowing that
the whipper will never truly get under your skin. While dealing with Tuberculosis since the age
of 12 which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee and the illness kept him
home from school many many times. Henley spent 33 years (1870-1903) of his life writing
poetry, This poem integrates several tone shifts, as well as multiple poetic devices to prove the
theme. The vivid poetic devices and broad range of vocabulary in William Earnest Henleys
poem Invictus proves that even under the most brutal, and unforgiving of events, if one has the
ability to keep their chin high, and their soul unbound, no one will push them down..
The poetic devices are the first important factor used to make this poem better and more
beautiful. A poetic device that is used on multiple occasions is assonance to create mixed
emotions. For my unconquerable soul and then later, My head is bloody, but unbowed. (8)
and then once more, It matters not how strait the gate, (13). The author created a sense of
repetition by using assonance at the beginning and end of many of his stanzas. This tone shows
the light and dark side of this poem. Next, the writer incorporates a simile, Black as the pit from
pole to pole (2). A demonstration how dark the night is proves how dismal of a setting the poem
takes place in. The author also sets the poem up in a way that, the reader will read this
comparison and imagine how pessimistic of a poem this is going to be, but then it shifts and
shows a lighter, happier resonance and ending. The last pronounced poetic device Henley used,

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was a repetitive ABAB rhyming scheme, covers me/ pole to pole/ may be/ soul to soul (1-4).
This pattern is consistent throughout the whole poem, in every stanza. Again, this is another
tactic to make the reader think that the whole poem will stay having a dark, and disheartening
tone, but in the end, the poem takes more of a sanguin tone, justifying that everything will be
alright, as long as ones chin stays high.
William Earnest Henleys Invictus has a dark and sorrowful tone, to convince the
reader that when ones spirit can fly, nothing will bring them down. To begin each stanza, the
author invokes a desperate, hopeless tone by using phrases like Black as the Pit (2) and
Beyond this place of wrath and tears (9). These cheerless initiating phrases give the reader
foreshadowing to what the ending of the stanzas/poem will be. Which is also where the big shifts
from dark to light to dark to light and so on are appreciated by the reader, because they do not
have to read a poem all about fear and defeat. The dreary tone is expressed with phrases such as
Looms but the Horror of the shade, (10) and Beyond this place of wrath and tears (9). This is
the whole point of this poem. This is the theme set up, and the flat out tone, which shifts to match
the theme going from sad to hopeful and then back to sad multiple times. Finally, the tone and
the theme goes hand in hand when the author switches moods, And yet the menace of the
years/Finds, and shall find, me unafraid (11-12). These switches at the end of each stanza are a
perfect way to tie the theme to each stanza. This intricate refrain starts, and ends the poem
beautifully.
Invictus is the perfect mixture of hope and despair due to its harsh beginnings, and
happy endings. Henley combines three solid poetic devices with a blend of tone and attitude
words to create an emotional poem that proves his theme. Knowing Henleys background and
childhood, this poem fits into his personal life. So, the examples that I took from Invictus are

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somes instances where vivid vocabulary, and strong poetic devices help prove the theme that,
even when undergoing the most unpleasant, and grim of situations, if one has the ability to keep
their head held high, nothing will ever bring them down.

Keiran Brook
Ms. Curmano
Freshman Honors English
12 February 2015
Works Cited
Henley, William. "A Love by the Sea." N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. 01 Jan. 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-love-by-the-sea/>.

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Henley, William. "Invitctus." N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. 03 Jan. 2003. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/invictus/>.

Henley, William. "I Am the Reaper." N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. 03 Jan. 2003. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-am-the-reaper/>.

"William Ernest Henley." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.