ACTIVITY ON THE TEXT

1) Read the poem through and say:

• who is speaking and to whom

Ulysses is the speaker of the poem, he is a Greek hero. In the text he is doing a monologue, he is responding to someone, but that person or group doesn’t speak in the scene, so the reader don’t know who is Ulysses speaking to.

• how old he is

In the text doesn’t appear his age but the reader can understand that he is really old, for example Ulysses says “you and I are old”, he knows he might die.

• where he is

He is in his house in Ithaca, with his old wife.

• what he is setting out on?

He is thinking about all his incredible life, that he wants to revive by travelling. He knows he might die but he wants to continue to move, to travel, to discover new place, because he is an explorer and that satisfied him.

2) Now read the text again, this time paying attention to the development of the argument. Summarize what Ulysses says and feels following the guidelines on the left. For each point consider also Tennyson's vocabulary indicating which words and phrases, in particular, reveal in the hero's traits and attitudes. The first point has been written for you.

• Life on Ithaca (lines 2-5)

It is uncivilised and… Negative adjectives such as idol, aged convey Ulysses’s total dissatisfaction with life on Ithaca

• His past life

It was great and satisfied, he travelled around all the world and he discovered always something new. “Much have I seen and known” and “ I am a part of all that I have met” He has also a lot of fun: “And drunk delight of battle with my peers”.

• View of present and future (19-32)

He desires to keep travelling and living a life of adventure. He compares his life to an arch and describes the “untraveled world” as a place that “gleams” at him through that arch.

• Attitude to Telemachus (33-44)

Ulysses wants to leave the sceptre and the isle to his son, Telemachus. He is described as a smart man who is willing to make the best decision for the people of Ithaca without being too hasty.

• Address to his mariners (45-70)

He speaks about "his mariners" with nostalgia; he has spent many adventures with them. Bad and good times and they have always been with him.

3A. How is Ulysses portrayed in the poem?

Ulysses is portrayed in the poem as a great old hero that cannot realize that his time is finished. He is bored to his life, he wants to travel and explore the world. He is unsatisfied because he can’t accept the idea of stay in Ithaca and do nothing.

On the other side, Telemachus is less restless than Ulysses, the son is patient and he wants the best for Ithaca. Instead, Ulysses in his life travelled a lot and he didn’t take care of the needs of his city. Now the citizens are uncivilized and Telemachus wants to help them.

Ulysses can be taken to be symbolic of the value of a real hero who remains such until the death. He is a man who has pursued his desires all his life and who has gained fame thanks to his achievements.

Ulysses differs from the picture we usually associate with the hero of the Odyssey because in the monologue the reader understand that in the end he is only a man, he has strengths and weaknesses.

3B. What is the poet’s attitude to Ulysses and Telemachus? With whom does it side?

The poet’s describes Ulysses as a great traveller and explorer; instead, Telemachus is presented as smart and patient, a good king of Ithaca. The poet  maybe sides with Telemachus because Ulysses says “the most blameless is he”. The novelist considers Telemachus as a good boy who deserves fame as much as his father

4) The poem was composed when Tennyson was still suffering for the death of his dearest friend, A. Hallam, in 1883. Does the poem reflect a sense of loss?

There is a link between the poem and Tennyson’s situation. Ulysses is suffering for the loss of his great past that will not come back. The hero is also sad for his old age that forces him to sit still.

5) As you will have realised the hero’s feelings are communicated through a careful choice of words. What observations can you make about the meter and the music of the poem and the relationship with its meaning?

The rhythm of the narration is fast to represent the time that passes quickly through Ulysses. Furthermore, this rhythm also underlines the approach of death by Ulysses. The sentences are short and incisive to express how dense the hero's past has been.