Invictus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Invictus - Essay Example The feeling that this is a real person overcoming real problems lends â€Å"Invictus† great emotive power. The second theme is that of opposition. The author establishes this in the opening lines of the poem where we read, â€Å"Out of the night that covers me/Black as the Pit from pole to pole,† (1-2). No source of this darkness that covers the author is ever identified. The third theme introduced in the first stanza is that of the â€Å"unconquerable soul† (4). This theme recurs at the end of each four line stanza as a beacon of hope for the reader of the poem, and perhaps it did for the author as well when he wrote it. Each stanza following the first returns to these three important themes. Henley stays firmly in the first-person throughout the poem. But the themes of opposition and triumph over that opposition are nuanced and expounded upon in the final three stanzas. The author alludes to the, â€Å"fell clutch of circumstance† (5) at the beginning of the second stanza. This adds emotional weight to the opposition mentioned at the beginning of the poem by suggesting that the adverse situation the author finds himself in is not of his own doing. Chance has intervened in his life in the most horrible way. By clearing the subject of the poem from wrongdoing or negligence, the reader of the poem is enticed to have greater empathy for the subject. Everyone can relate to having bad things happen in their lives that were beyond their control. This acquittal from fault for the subject of the poem also enhances the achievements the unconquerable soul. Overcoming and defying despair in the face of obstacles you have created for yourself is expected behavior for a mature, well-adjusted member of society. The admirable behavior is recognized when one defies the misfortune life hands to you that are not of your own