Introduction and background of the author
Ulysses is an old poem that carries huge information that still resonates with the current generation. The poem was orchestrated by a great poem writer of the time. He wrote the poem while he was energetic and full of ideas. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92), did write the poem when he was in his early twenties. The poem has been analyzed in different dimensions from the reader’s point of view. However, a close analysis of the poem by other great poem writers reveals that the poem is written in response to the untimely death of Tennyson’s close friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is a great British poet-writer who is remembered for holding the poet Laureateship for 42 years. He held the position until his death. This is a record-making that it has bot being broken as far as poetry is concerned. In 1829, Alfred was awarded the chancellor’s gold medal prize at the University of Cambridge for his writings’ outstanding performance. Besides Ulysses, other poems that Alfred has written that have been read widely include the light brigade’s charge and crossing the bar. The three poems gave him recognition across the globe as the best writer who incorporated different writing styles in giving out the intended message to the poem’s targeted audience.
The poems of Alfred were well researched, which conveyed different messages targeting different audiences. He incorporated a wide range of the subjects’ matter, which ranged from the medieval legends up to the classical myths, domestic issues, and even nature and environment. His works also included the romantic part of the life of many youths who were struggling with their love life story. He inspired many in the line of poetry as he mentored many other poets who came after him. He taught literature and other linguistic styles in different universities, which made him be known in many of the British universities. His efforts and works done in the world of poetry are still vivid in many literature students’ minds.
Analysis of the poem
In the poem, Ulysses cites that it feels worthless to stay home or in one place with his wife. He continues to speak to himself that he cannot have rest from travel, but he would rather spend most of his time living to the fullest until the last drop of his life. The speaker in the poem seems to have sailed most parts of the world and that the pleasure that comes with it is what he cannot afford to lose and stay at home with his wife. Coming back home, Ulysses gives out his frustrations on how his life has become useless and pointless. He points out how life seems meaningless to him as the king of Ithaca, who is forced to stay at home on Ithaca’s rocky island. Ulysses feels so much bothered with this life simply because his wife is old, and he needs to continue to craft imperfect laws that will govern people he considers them to be uncivilized and stupid.
Ulysses still has the dreams and desires to transverse the country one day as he used to do. He does not yarn to stop things that he was used to doing as long as they give him happiness. He finds happiness in every moment and minute he spends while traveling. He loves traveling because he points out that he has been exposed to different people with different cultures through his travels. It has also given him insight into the battle of delight as he fought the Trojan war with his men. He says that he is of what he is today because traveling has shaped him into that.
The poem continues with Ulysses speaking about his son Telemachus. According to the speaker, who, at this point, is speaking to an anonymous audience, says that his son, Telemachus, will take over his leadership when he is gone. He praises his son and a patronizing attitude about the leadership capabilities that his son has compared to himself. He believes that his son will govern the people while he will be doing his work, traveling. In the poem’s last stanza, Ulysses gets his fellow mariners’ audience, whom they traveled and worked together. He iterates that even though they are old, they still have a prime opportunity to do something honorable that will be remembered before the long day wanes. Ulysses encourages his trouble mates to make good use of their old age as it comes with wisdom. In the parting shot of the poem, Ulysses and his fellows demonstrate that they are not strong as they were during their youth, but they are more strong in will and a relentless push to achieve their goals.
Setting and form of the poem
The poem is orchestrated in a dramatic monologue. The poem is spoken by a single main character who has revealed himself through the description. The lines used in the poem demonstrate impartiality and neutrality towards Ulysses’s speech. The poem’s setting starts in Ithaca’s rocky islands, where he is the leader, and ends where the character meets his fellow sailors as they discuss how they can leave a remarkable mark in the world before their days are over on earth.
Themes
Mortality and aging
At the beginning of the poem, Ulysses confronts being old age and dissatisfaction while sitting at home. He does not want the old age to cut short his adventurous young golden days striving to live until his death. At the end of the poem, he admits that old age has weakened him and that he needs to do something noble that the upcoming generation will remember it.
Adventure and knowledge
In Tennyson’s poem, the speaker struggles for many years to come back home to Ithaca. However, while at home with his wife, Ulysses discovers that home is not the best place to make him happy. As the poem begins, an angry Ulysses points out how he is uncomfortable staying at home, and he feels like being idle in his home. Absurdity, the many years that he spent while traveling, did not make him miss his home, but it made him love traveling more and making new adventures and meeting new friends. For Ulysses, the taste for adventuring cannot be taken away as he is committed to doing that until his last day. He also urges his fellow mariners to join him in the last voyage in the bid of reclaiming what he considers to be the true identity.
Caution and recklessness.
Ulysses describes Telemachus, his son, as a conservative and cautious man who can take over after him to lead the Ithaca people. However, he patronizingly scolds his son because he does not have the daring, power, imaginations, not being curious as himself. As a leader, Ulysses has shown his recklessness in his administration. He has referred to his people as being stupid and that they are uncivilized. He continues to craft imperfect laws to govern them while he is continuously on travel. While traveling with his crewmates, he also exposes his recklessness when he exposes his friends to death and danger.
Reference
James, J. (2017). Ulysses. Рипол Классик.