Invictus: Historical & Literary Context

The Victorian Age of Doubt

Henley wrote “Invictus” in 1875, during a period when religious life in British Victorian society was undergoing a major shift toward secularism. The reasons for this shift were numerous and complex, though one of the most important factors related to the scientific discoveries that defined the era. Perhaps the most significant of such discoveries was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which many in British society viewed as a major threat to the Christian idea of Creation. Victorian science had also led to innovation in the realms of engineering and manufacturing, which in turn spurred on the development of the Industrial Revolution and the growth of the capitalist economy. And of course, none of these advancements would have been possible without the hugely profitable expansion of the British Empire, which reached the period of its height starting around 1870. These and other developments had a transformative effect on society at large. The rapid changes in everyday life increasingly cast doubt on long-held philosophical, moral, and religious orthodoxies. Many Victorians lost their faith in God, and as the promise of divine salvation faded, they had to take their fate into their own hands. “Invictus” clearly reflects these themes of secularization and the need for self-determination.

British stoicism

The British national character has long been defined by stoicism—that is, by its emphasis on remaining emotionally reserved in the face of adversity. This emphasis on the ability to endure pain or hardship without reaction or complaint is captured in the British idiom of “keeping a stiff upper lip.” Whereas a lip that trembles reveals vulnerability, the “stiff upper lip” maintains a stoic presentation of absolute reserve and emotional stability. Though influenced by the ancient Greek school of Stoic philosophy, British stoicism arguably emerged as a product of Victorian morality and imperialism. Broadly speaking, the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) was a time of deep conservatism in Britain, which sponsored a strict and frankly repressive morality rooted in traditional Christian values. The conservatism of Victorian morality was compounded by the fact that, under Victoria, the British Empire had grown to encompass much of the globe. In relation to their supposedly uncivilized colonial subjects, the British cultivated a self-image of cool civility that implicitly asserted their own superiority. The speaker of Henley’s “Invictus” clearly harbors religious doubt and hence isn’t fully entrenched in the conservatism of the period. However, their emphasis on the need to stay strong and defiant in the face of all hardship is clearly indebted to the contemporary culture of stoicism.

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