Ulysses’ Analysis

Next section (from line 33 to 43) is quite short and is a sort of presentation to an unidentified audience of his son Telemachus, who will be his successor. Tennyson’s Telemachus is the paradigm of another kind of living life and another attitude, different from Ulysses’ one: he’s capable as a ruler, characterized by prudence, dedication, and devotion to the gods.

The presentation offered by Ulysses reveals the two faces of a human being: the personal identity (underlined by expressions like “my son, mine own Telemachus”. Using "my own", Ulysses underlines the idea of possession) and the social identity. Telemachus can carry out the duties of the king (his father) because he has the qualities needed: slow prudence (to obtain the agreement), mild attitude to the habitants of Itaca. From this portray the intelligent reader understand that the young boy has material values, rose from Victorian society. For that matter it’s interesting to notice that lord Tennyson uses Ulysses voice to express a criticism to the Victorianism mentality.

Telemachus and Ulysses have different aims for their lives: the first 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 reader can understand also the different nature of the two personalities: the old hero is a romantic figure, instead his son is concrete.