The poem is written by Tennyson in October 1833, after the death of Arthur Henry Hallam, Tennyson's close friend at Cambridge University. It inspirited the poem which expressed, I the poet's words "the need of going forward and braving the struggle of life".
The poem is based on a combination of Homer's account in his Odyssey (books XIX - XXIV) with Dante's version of Ulysses' story (in Inferno XXVI).
Tennyson pictures Ulysses in Ithaca some time after his reunion with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus and, presumably, after he had resumed the administrative responsibilities involved in governing his kingdom.
The poem is a dramatic monologue: the entire poem is spoken by a single character, whose identity is revealed by his own words. The poem is composed of three stanzas.
The first one has the function to present the psychology of the dramatic personae. Ulysses declares that there is little point in his staying home "by this still hearth" with his old wife, doling out rewards and punishments for the unnamed masses who live in his kingdom.
Then, he proclaims that he "cannot rest from travel" but feels compelled to live to the fullest and swallow every last drop of life. He has enjoyed all his experiences as a sailor who travels the seas, and he considers himself a symbol for everyone who wanders and roams the earth. His travels have exposed him to many different types of people and ways of living. They have also exposed him to the war, while fighting the Trojan War with his men. Ulysses declares that his travels and encounters have shaped who he is: he asserted "I am a part of all that I have met" . In conclusion he speaks about the "margin" of the globe: through travel, the world has ever known and the margins disappear.
So, Ulysses wants to move, because he considers boring to stay in one place. His spirit yearns constantly for new experiences that will broaden his horizons; he wishes "to follow knowledge like a sinking star" and forever grow in wisdom and in learning.
The second stanza is very short and it has the function to introduce the figure of Telemachus, his son. Telemachus will act as his successor while the great hero resumes his travels. He speaks about his son's capabilities as a ruler, praising his prudence, dedication, and devotion to the gods. Telemachus will do his work of governing the island while Ulysses will do his work of traveling the seas: "He works his work, I mine."
The final stanza is addressed to a silent listener, who is one of the figure of the dramatic monologue. Ulysses addresses the mariners with whom he has worked, traveled, and weathered life's storms over many years. He declares that although he and they are old, they still have the potential to do something noble and honorable before "the long day wanes." He encourages them to make use of their old age because " 'tis not too late to seek a newer world." He declares that his goal is to sail onward "beyond the sunset" until his death. They may even reach the "Happy Isles," or the paradise of perpetual summer described in Greek mythology where great heroes like the warrior Achilles were believed to have been taken after their deaths. Although Ulysses and his mariners are not as strong as they were in youth, they are strong in will "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Therefore, even if Ulysses is old and he is aware that death is coming near, he wants to do a last voyage in order to be again glorious and heroic.
The main themes that emerge from the poem are:
1. Heroism, because the voyage is finalized to the heroism; it is connected with the moral values of Victorian Age. Heroism in the sense of honorable way of behaving.
2. The anxiety of Ulysses reflected the unsatisfaction of the Victorians under the general optimism.
3. The desire of the "new" as the Victorians had the desire to discover new lands and the desire of renewal in a period of mechanization and social problems.
4. The death, as the end of all doubts also the Victorian Age was an age of doubts about man and life originated by scientific theory like Darwinism (sense of melancholy and sadness).