NOTES

In the present poem the substantive knowledge does not include only Ulysses' personal knowledge (what he knows) but Ulysses also refers to knowledge that he has acquired from the relationship with other people, from other countries and cultures.

Perception verbs prevail in the entire poem and suggest the existential dimension of Ulysses' speech.

Reference to Hamlet: Victorian poetry is a new kind of poetry that takes from tradition and from the past. What makes a poem Victorian is the plot between myth and innovation. For example the relationship with other people allows Ulysses to know himself.

Tennyson also makes use of constructions that focuses the reader's attention on particular words. For example in line 13 the words' order is inverted and such construction puts the eye on the centre of the verse.

Right from the first lines Ulysses appears as a superior man, better from the others. Most of his qualities depend from his relation with other people. This prospective is the result of an innovative way to look at the world.

The 16^th line And drunk delight of battle with my peers presents an alliterative dental sound that suggests the idea of a romantic attitude of the character.

In his speech Ulysses often repeats I am.., I will.., I have.., and such choice suggests the idea of existence.

What makes this poem innovative is the different context: Ulysses has only a few times to live fully because he is old. In line 19 the figure of the arch reminds a segment, the rainbow and suggests the time passing.

Despite his old age Ulysses is still attracted from what he does not know. He has a dynamic idea of life.

Right from the 23^rd line starts the romantic part of the poem. Line 24 Life piled on life present a construction of repetition words and sounds (anaphoric use of the language and alliteration). Such construction focuses the attention on Ulysses' dynamic personality.