ULYSSES by A. Tennyson – Complete ANALYSIS

A. Tennyson wrote during the Victorian period: his poem presents a combination of Homer’s Odissey and Dante’s account of Ulysses’ story, in his Divina Commedia. A. Tennyson exploits the technique of dramatic monologue in order to reveal the protagonist’s direct thought and reflections. In the poem the speaking voice is Ulysses himself. The use of blank verse conveys fluidity in the speech and thoughts follow each other.

SETTING: The poem takes place in Ithaca; it starts in Ulysses' palace or castle, subsequently it moves to port. At the end of the poem, the reader feels like Ulysses is standing next to his mariners, in his ship.

CHARACTERS: Ulysses is the name of the Greek hero Odysseus, the mythical king of Ithaca who fought in the Trojan War. He spent ten years fighting in the war, and another ten years trying to get home. Tennyson’s Ulysses is an old aged character and he is displayed in Ithaca, after his glorious journey. Moreover, in the middle of the speech an other figure is inserted, that of his son Telemachus.

STRUCTURE: the extract is organized into two main parts.

CONTENT ANALYSIS: In the first line Ulysses introduces himself as a king. He returned to his homeland after a ten years-long journey and finds a ”still hearth“, ”barren crags“, ”an aged wife“ and ”unequal laws unto a savage race“. The reader can notice that his impossibility to act for his people is underlined by words referring to sterility. He does not feel at ease in the isle and does not believe to manage ruling his kingdom anymore. He travelled and experienced innumerable places and situations, now, in Ithaca, he feels like a prisoner among unfamiliar people. Ulysses’ willingness not to stay in such a suffocating place is underlined throughout the poem: he would like to escape from a place in which he cannot find his needs. Ulysses is aware of the little time left to him: he is an aged man who had already experienced great deeds and now he is not young any longer. His awareness permeates the whole monologue, and gives a sense of melancholia.

“I am a part of all that I have met; yet all experiences is an arch wherethro' gleams that untravell'd world” (lines 18-20): Tennyson presents Ulysses's concept of knowledge: the king means not only what a person has acquired during his life, but the result of relationship between people, cities and experience. Experiences are compared to an arch which symbolizes both a way of time passing and a weapon which expresses the concept of facing every day life.

The phrase, at line 24, ”Life piled on life” recalls the idea of monotony referring to every day routine. Ulysses desires to know the part of world which he has never visited because he is attracted by what he doesn't know at all, novelties. Curiosity is the base of every form of knowledge. Ulysses doesn't want to live an ordinary, boring life, but he desires to expand his horizons.

”To follow knowledge like a sinking star, beyond the utmost bound of human thought“ (line 31): the most important aspect in Ulysses’ life is the knowledge of the world and the possible reach of unexplored places. At line 33 the speaking voice introduces his son Telemachus. He declares immediately that he will leave the power to his son because he is able to recognize in him the ability to understand what it is good and what it is bad. With the sentence the king confirms that Ulysses cannot manage ito do those tasks any longer.

”He works his work, I mine“ (line 43): the last section moves from the perspective of Ulysses' reflection from his reflection to the experience he would like to make.

”The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed; Free hearts, free foreheads – you and I are old“, lines 48-50: the reference to nature becomes symbolical. Human beings get old but even if you are old you are able to do great and several things. The sailors, companions of Ulysses in this adventure, are represented as souls: they supported and came with the ruler “beyond the sunset, and the baths; Of all the western stars, until I die.” lines 60-61. At the end of the poem Tennyson reveals Ulysses' nature: even if he is aware of the little time left to him, he desires to travel until his death.