Invictus

Thursday, March 18, 2021 8:06 PM

The speaker begins by emerging from a metaphorical night that lies on top of the speaker like a physical
thing. This night, which seems to fill the whole world, is as dark as Hell. Despite this darkness, the
speaker feels gratitude towards any god or gods that may exist for granting unshakeable resilience.
Looking back on life's past challenges, which constrained the speaker like a giant fist, the speaker
remembers never showing discomfort or complaining. Going even further, the speaker compares life's
unexpected mishaps to being beaten with a heavy implement. The speaker was damaged by this
beating, yet that fact did not decrease the speaker's pride or resolve.
Now the speaker looks beyond the present of anger and sadness to the future. Unfortunately, the
future's only certainty is death, which hangs over the present like a terrifying shadow. However, the
speaker once again affirms that the threat of inevitable suffering does not, and never will, frighten the
speaker.
The speaker doesn't care how challenging life becomes, alluding to a biblical passage in which a narrow
gate represents extreme difficulty. Nor does the speaker care how many horrible events lie in the book
of fate. The speaker controls the course of their own inner life. Like a ship's captain, the speaker remains
in charge of their inner life's unconquerable element: the soul.

What is the main message of the poem 'Invictus'? Do you agree with it? How can you apply it to your
own life?

The main message of the poem is, we all have hard times, time when we are hurt, times when we just
want to quit, times when we feel despair and sad, but we should not give up. We are all capable of
overcoming our fears and challenges. We all can control our fate and work towards the life we want. We
all are capable of being 'Invictus', the unconquerable. I do agree with the message because even before
discovering this poem, I believed in the message. I can apply this message to my life by not giving up
whenever those 'hard' times hit and fight on, by controlling what I do everyday and work towards the
life I dream of.

English Literature Page 1