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GUrban - 5A. Victorian Poetry and The Dramatic Monologue - Analysis complete Ulysses Tennynson
by GUrban - (2012-04-23)
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The first part of the text, Ulysses wants to realize his desires. Ulysses is aware to the little time remain and he looks for new knowledge, for this reason he would move beyond.

In the first lines the writer describes the context in which Ulysses acts. Ulysses is different from the people he governs and for this reason Ulysses compares his people to a savage race.

Ulysses is old and he is living the last part of the life and he would experience it, and proving every emotion. He says that in his life proves different emotion, he enjoyed himself and suffers alone and with other persons, this is the consequence of a change of her role in his society.

Ulysses says that he is a name because people remembers him just for his name but this underlines the sense of isolation that Ulysses proves to live in his society.

Ulysses has the possibility to know different traditions and habits of the countries that he has visited, and these inhabitants are similar to him. Ulysses seems a stranger in his country.

Ulysses desires to discover new things, different to his reality. Moreover Ulysses is defined as the product of his voyages and experiences. The life is like an arch, this is a way to describe the time passing and the tension to reach the goal.

Ulysses would live every part of his life because every moment we can experience new emotions. If the man doesn’t experience his life he loses some important aspects and seems waste.

To experience the life, the man should act and realize what he desires to know. Ulysses is at the end of his life and each hour is precious and unique because the death can come every moment.

The protagonist says that is useless to waste his life, living in a society that doesn’t understand him. His mood is “gray” like is life, he is miserable. Ulysses’ desire is to continue to discover new things and learn and for this reason is compared to sinking star.

In the third section the speaking voice introduces Telemachus, the son of Ulysses and it is introduces the figure of myth. Ulysses indicates the heir of his island, his son Telemachus. Telemachus is a better-tempered person, the person to cover the role of leader. Telemachus can subdue the population and impose his personality. Moreover he is presented by Ulysses and the reader can perceive his qualities and his defects. Ulysses is described through the speaking voice. Ulysses takes the distance to his son in the verse “When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.”, this to underline the difference between two characters.

The last section is about the perspections of Ulysses reflections. Although his mariners don’t speak,  they listen, they are souls, but they are similar to Ulysses. They have faced the life during the voyages, sharing the difficulties and joys, for this Ulysses describes mariners as true persons.

Ulysses is aware to be at the end of his life and he would live every moment of his life because even the little part can become a honour works. Ulysses invites his mariners to look for a new world, go past the limit of the Western world and this is a metaphor to indicate Ulysses existence.

The time passes and Ulysses is become old, but the strength of will doesn’t decrease.