Learning Paths » 5A Interacting
Ulysses
The poem "Ulysses" written by Tennyson in 1833 is a representation of Homer's hero in his Odyssey. The use of myth is common because of the concept of "timeless" that myth brings with. Myth has some values that are common to everymen without time and because it is very known. For these reasons, many authors have analysed the figure of Ulysses and have given him a personal interpretation of his choices: first Dante who put him into the Inferno, Tennyson and finally Joyce who compared the figure of the Ulysses to that modern man. The technique used is that of the dramatic monologue according to Victorian Age's conventions, in which Tennyson uses a speaking voice that is Ulysses to describe his inner feelings and thoughts.
Tennyson's poem is about what happened after the hero had returned to Ithaca: right from the start, (lines 1 - 5) the poem has an introductory function and deals with Ulysses' consideration about his possible life in Ithaca. As typical in dramatic monologue, narration is given by scenes. Tennyson shows you the image of an old king, sitting by "this still hearth", and thinking about his reign and its habitants who looks like "savage race" who, similar to animals, "hoard, and sleep, and feed". Moreover the savage ignore Ulysses' glorious past, they "know not me". The general idea the reader gets from the first stanza is that Ulysses is disappointed with his present life. In addition the use of the verb "profits" gives the reader the idea of Victorian age's idea of progress.
Going on lines 6 - 17 introduces the reader to Ulysses' glorious past and a sense of nostalgia for all those heroic travels comes to surface. The sequence begins with the clear declaration "I cannot rest from travel", with which Ulysses empathises his disappointment with the present life. Then he expresses the will to live until the end, "drink life to the lees". He cannot stay at home, he would like to go away "I cannot rest from travel". The hero proceeds describing his adventures: encouraged by a "hungry heart" he has "seen and known...cities of men and manners, climates, councils, governments" and finally he "become a name"; he finally became well known by others, got an identity, in opposition to the previous sequence where Ithaca's inhabitants didn't know him even if he was their king. This sequence helps the reader understand the importance of Ulysses' voyage, a process that led the hero to get his own identity and what is more important to know himself.