Tennyson's Ulysses - Textual analysis

Ulysses is a poem written by A. Tennyson in 1833, in which he describes the figure of Ulysses and his reflections, as an old selfish man: when he came back to the island he didn't like anymore his wife and his homeland . From line 1 to line 17 Tennyson uses the language in two ways: in the first part Ulysses uses a cruel language in order to express his disgust towards his country, his wife and his subjects. In the second part Ulysses describes what he made and what his feelings were.

At line 1 the reader finds the word "profits" which refers to something material he does not earn. He refers to himself as an idle king.

At line 2 with the sentence "barren crags" he expresses his disappointment towards his own land; this is in opposition to the expression "windy troy" (line 17).

At line 4 he affirms that his subjects are a "savage race" in order to underline their incivility.

At line 5 the rhythm of the words help Ulysses to underline his mood.

From line 6 to line 17 Ulysses expresses his feelings. He is the metaphor for the traveler. He still wants to travel. He still wants to drink life (line 6-7) because he "drunk delight of battle" (line 16). His heart is hungry (line11). He uses words which express physical needs to express his desires and his regrets.