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Henley wrote “Invictus” in iambic tetrameter, meaning that each line consists of four iambs. (Recall that an iamb has one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word “un-bowed.”) Henley’s use of iambic tetrameter is fairly consistent throughout, which helps to emphasize the poem’s overall theme of remaining steadfast in the face of adversity. That said, there are also several instances of metrical variation. The most common type of variation in the poem is the substitution of a trochee (stressed–unstressed) in the first foot of a line. As a representative example, consider the meter of the opening stanza (lines 1–4):

     Out of / the night / that co- / vers me,
           Black as / the pit / from pole / to pole,
     I thank / what-ev- / er gods / may be
           For my / un-con- / quer-a- / ble soul.

Every line here consists of precisely four metrical feet, the majority of which are iambic. The only exceptions occur in the first foot of the first and second lines, where Henley has introduced a trochee, briefly reversing the iambic rhythm that otherwise predominates. These reversals emphasize the shift taking place in the speaker’s psychology. Whereas the first two lines describe the conditions the speaker wishes to leave behind, the last two lines indicate a new paradigm of self-confidence. Own subtly echoes this psychological shift in the rhythm of the lines.

Just as the poem’s first two lines feature a trochee substitution in the opening foot, so too do the poem’s final two lines (15–16):

     I am / the mas- / ter of / my fate,
           I am / the cap- / tain of / my soul.

Here again, both lines begin not with an iamb but with a trochee. But whereas the rhythm of the poem’s first lines evokes the speaker’s emergence from a dark psychological space, the rhythm of the final lines reflects their defiant self-confidence. Indeed, both lines begin with the word “I” in a stressed position, which powerfully indicates the speaker’s newfound sense of control over their life. The speaker exercises this control metrically at other points in the poem as well, and most notably in lines 11–12:

     And yet / the men- / ace of / the years
           Finds and / shall find / me un- / a-fraid.

After a line of perfect iambic tetrameter in which the speaker once again references a dark and painful past, they utter what is perhaps the most defiant line in the entire poem. This line begins with a trochee, but then, instead of shifting back to iambic meter right away, it continues with a foot known as a spondee (stressed–stressed). The spondee allows the speaker to make an especially emphatic statement, insisting that they will never be afraid again.

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