Invictus By Earnest Henley

The poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley forms thorough comparisons regarding theme with Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ as Henley conceives themes of fate, circumstance, and struggle in his literary piece. These thematic connections are shown when the protagonist, Okonkwo, of ‘Things Fall Apart’ is faced with the task of emerging from poverty and becoming a man that is successful, yet feared. He is also challenged with his own inner demons as the white man reshapes his way of life, driving Okonkwo to a fate much different than what he

Through “Invictus,” Henley conveys that people decide their own fate. The use of imagery expresses this theme because Henley uses strong words that convey an image in the reader’s mind to help them create an image of someone who is dying, but not hanging their head and getting up to fight. This is expressed in the text through the quote, “My head is bloody, but unbowed” (Henley 8). This imagery is used to to show how he is very close to death but his head is unbowed. This evidence supports the theme because by not bowing his head he is overcoming his near death experience. If he were to bow his head it would mean he would die, and he has decided he doesn’t want to die yet. By bowing his head, he is succumbing to death, and he makes the decision to keep up. Another device Henley uses is diction. He uses diction because it expresses how he acts differently than other people. When other people bow their head and get conquered, his head remains unbowed and unconquered. For example, “Under the bludgeonings of chance/ My head is bloody, but unbowed” (Henley 7-8). This quote uses the word unbowed. It explains how in his situation other people would bow their head and give up, but he isn’t going to just bow his head and succumb to death. This evidence supports the theme because everybody goes through a hardship at some point, and they have multiple different ways of dealing with it. They can either sit there and let it ruin them, or they can keep fighting it and do something about it.

In this free-verse war poem, the idea of 'journey' extends itself to cover both the physical and emotional aspects of the subject matter of the poem. Repetition and word

In the fifth stanza he uses imagery in a different instance where he describes how ignorant the veteran was about the reality as he is only thinking of the glorification of war. He portrays an image of “jewelled hilts”, “daggers in plaid socks;”, “smart salutes” and “Esprit de corps”. Throughout the stanza we hear of the glories and amusements of war but only on the last line does he mention the aftermath of the war where he was discharged due to his disability.

The speaker says, “…older than the flow of human blood in my veins” (Line 1). Blood is only developed when a fetus is being grown, in the Mother, but within the blood lies DNA of their ancestors from past generations. The speaker uses human blood to relate to the fact that our blood is old and connected to our heritage because we carry their DNA inside of us. “I’ve seen its muddy bosom” (Line 9). Muddy, implies a bleak outlook of not being able to see the end. Lose of hope. “Turns all golden in the sunset” (Line 9) the ominous of a sparse future comes to an end with the sunset signifying hope and a new beginning. The association to his ancestors’ bleak past is his what binds their experiences to him.

The poem Invictus was mainly about if people are making their own choices or if it’s just destiny. The poem says “I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul”. I think that means you do what you want and if it's good or bad it's the choice you

"Briefly, in the rain, Lieutenant Cross saw Martha's gray eyes gazing back at him. He understood. It was very sad, he thought.  The things men carried in side.  The things men did or felt they had to do. He almost nodded at her, but didn't." This one quote reasonably sums up the whole story. Lieutenant Cross starts the story by listing all the things the men have to carry to keep them safe and nourished. When he goes more into the story he starts to explain the mental baggage they all carry. He is in "love" with Martha. Constantly wondering if she is a virgin or who she is with now. He gets so involved with Martha's life he imagines himself on the Jersey shore with her feeling the warm sun and the waves crashing by the two. While he is deep

Strong, optimistic, and hopeful, the narrator of “Invictus” strove against the struggles of everyday life to find the positive in every situation. The narrator states how he faces many struggles such as the bad circumstances, “bludgeonings of chance” (Henley), and shades of horror. In the poem “Invictus,” William E. Henley shows that the narrator had one focus: to stay the man he knew he was and to be positive throughout the struggles he faced, yet, in the play “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare, the author writes how the main character Macbeth was a strong, brave and a loyal man, but by the choices he made, ruined his life. Both articles show that your life is based on control rather than destiny, but in the poem “Invictus,” the theme is best shown through the plot, setting, and dialogue.

To him “this place of wrath and tears” is his life. He is saying that his whole life is a struggle. In Anthem and “Invictus” both of the characters are faced with a lot of

“What is equality?” one might ask. We all have different views on specific topics and can describe what something truly means to one’s self like in the 3 text, “I have a dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (published; 8/28/1963, genre; narrative and argumentative), “If we must die,” by Claude Mckay (published; 1919, genre; narrative and lyric), & “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (published; October 1961, genre; satirical & dystopian science-fiction short story). In all 3 texts the authors are giving their touch on equality. Equality can convey being treated the same when a colored and a white man/woman are next to each other as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says. You can also see equality as Mckay who thinks it’s being on the same level of strength and worth as a white man being in the shoes of a colored man. Or equality can be being exactly the same in every way as anyone around you in every exact way in Vonnegut’s eyes. All these 3 authors have a particular view on how to answer “What is equality?” and we can compare their ideas.

Claude McKay’s 1919 sonnet, “If We Must Die”, came at a time when African-American lives were conditional, and seemingly dependent on the actions of the white community. McKay’s choice to write his poem in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, a form usually reserved for flowery love language, could be attributed to either establishing his worth as a writer to a community not so accepting of black writers and/or to use an easily understood format to convey the strong message of injustice within American society at the time. The times surrounding this poem was an era of hostility and racial tension, where the lives of black men were less valued than their white counterparts. McKay’s “If We Must Die” is reminiscent of a speech which rallies a group of soldiers going into battle. However, rather than soldiers, the audience is the African-American community dealing with their day-to-day lives.

Around the time of the Harlem Renaissance, blacks still faced many adversities that prevented them from thriving as a people. As seen in the Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction eras, blacks were often discriminated against and even attacked by whites all across the nation. These attacks all culminated in the infamous "Red Summer of 1919," when hundreds of African Americans were slaughtered in race riots in dozens of cities, including Chicago, Washington D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. While many blacks were extremely fearful of this impending danger, the esteemed poet Claude McKay boldly spoke out against the cruelty shown towards his people. In his poem "If We Must Die," McKay encourages blacks and commands them to stand and fight against the misdeeds committed by whites. Instead of asking blacks to accept their fate or to uselessly flee from the threat of death, McKay dares them to stare death in the face and to fight against the power that whites try to hold over them. In his sonnet "If We Must Die," McKay uses bestial imagery, biblical allusions and first person perspectives to motivate African Americans to defy the violent tyranny of white Americans.

Through, “Invictus”, by William Ernest Henley conveys that people can not let anything stop them from achieving their dream and to fight back. The use of imagery expresses this theme because it shows how terrible the situation is. An example of this is, “My Head is bloody, but unbowed” (Henley 8). By saying that the person's head is bloody it shows that the person is going through something hard or something bad is happening to them, but they are still fighting. They are using imagery to show the pain the person has. The imagery shows they still are getting up and nothing is getting in their way of their goal. The person didn’t let people or things tell them that they can or can not do something, they fought back. Another device Henley uses is diction the speaker’s perseverance. An example of diction is “Under the bludgeonings of chance” (Henley 7). With the use of bludgeonings, which means beat, it gives the phrase a little push to be stronger and it shows more than just saying beaten or tackled. Also using diction can give another meaning to a phrase so it can emphasize a certain part for people to focus on. Another thing is if people use words that people don’t normally use then people will take the time and think what is this person trying to say. By using diction the author is emphasizing that this shows that this person isn’t letting something stop them. Even though this person didn’t make the chance they had that won’t stop them from achieving their dream.

People going through a hard time can not let their struggles consume them, but they need to overcome them and get stronger. Poems “Invictus” by

What differentiates poem from other works of writing? What makes you realize that what you read is a poem but not a short story? Bearing in mind that the answer might differ from person to person, I believe that the crucial difference is that the underlying message is generally not obvious in the poem, and it forces the readers to think about it for a while to understand its deeper meaning. The fact that the message is not apparent in the poem, is often attributed to the usage of metaphors in the poetry. According to Oxford Dictionary, metaphors are the “figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. Even though they are used for different reasons