1)         The narrator is the famous Ulysses, it seems he is speaking to somebody in particular but nobody will answer him (technique called dramatic monologue)

He is old, indeed he makes references to deth, but the reader doesn’t know his age

From the first lines he seems to be in Ithaca

2)         Life on Ithaca (lines 2-5): It is uncivilised and rude; negative adjectives such as idol, aged convey Ulysses’s total dissatisfaction with life on Ithaca

His past life: he has experienced a lot of positive and negative situations, he has known a lot and he misses it

View of the present and the future (19-32): he has to accept the present but he is hungry of knowledge, so he would like to strart travelling again

Attitude to Telemachus (33-44): he thinks Telemachus will be a better king than him because he has the right mentality to rule

Address to his mariners (45-70): mariners were his friends, he doesn’t consider himself superior than them, they shared the joy and the sufference of the experiences togheter

3)         a. The Ulysses portrayed by Tennyson is completely different from the young one conveyed by Homer and Dante. Here is an old man who remembers his eperiences with regret and he would escape from the monotonous life of Ithaca, even his advanced age. He is hungry of knowledge and he is ready to live new experiences away from his island. The opposite of his son Telemachus who will be a responsible king. Ulysses need to travel, he can’t stay in a single place, past glories make him unable to accept his present on Itacha, he wants to do something great. Maybe Tennyson’s Ulysses symbolizes that the will is stronger than anything, also than his old age.

b. The narrator, Ulysses, tells he and Telemachus are two different kind of people with a different view of life, but he doesn’t say one is better than the other. He secretly sides with Ulysses suggesting to follow his way of living.

4)         All the poem reflects a sense of loss, indeed death is one of the central themes. Aslo Ulysses suffers and feels a sense of loss for his past life, his expriences and his younger body.

5)         The poem has a musical sound based on alliterations and a tone of sadness. The lexical choices refers to death, sense of loss and regret. But sometimes also hope, desire of advanture and new experiences are the dominant feelings.