Tennyson's Ulysses-1833

Just looking at the title it is clear that the extract will be about the Greek hero, Ulysses. The choice of the title “Ulysses”, just one precise word, makes the reader curious about what the novelist will tell about the famous character. Ulysses is the latinised version of the Greek mythological hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca.

“Ulysses” is a dramatic monologue, 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. Perhaps he is speaking to himself; 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.

He is unsatisfied because he can’t accept the idea of stay in Ithaca and do nothing. Tennyson's Ulysses finds himself restless at home after years of exploration and adventure. He tells himself : “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use!”

The hero looking forward in the future knows his son Telemachus will take over the kingdom and run it well when Ulysses has gone because his son is more patient and responsible. Ulysses at the end addresses his mariners and prepares them for the journey of all journeys, 'beyond the sunset', to seek and find and not to yield. The main idea of Ulysses is that of overcoming a situation that threatens to bring a person down. The poem builds up to the final few lines, which are defiant, hopeful, and inspirational indeed the tone of the extract is reflective, contemplative and hopeful.

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.

The structure of the text is unusual; there are many short and incisive lines, many commas and other punctuation. Indeed, 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.

The overall effect of the text is of pain and sadness for Ulysses’ unhappy condition. The ideal reader may be a person who is in the same unhappy condition as the protagonist, perhaps thanks to this text the reader can reflect himself in the character and feel better.