“Ulysses” is one of the best Tennyson’s lyric poems, which is written in blank verse. The writer took inspiration from one part of Dante’s epic poem “Divine Comedy”, which is dedicated to Odysseus. The hero of Tennyson’s poem is represented as a tireless seaman, rebellious person who used to travel a lot, looking for the pleasure in his journeys and now, in his old age, he knows the real taste of life.
In addition, this person shows interest to the life that surrounds him, he is “always roaming with a hungry heart” (12). Due to this, he is educated, knows other cultures, laws and each person that he had met, left a mark on his personality. This knowledge helped him to find out his true temper, and we can say that his wandering over the world helped him to create individuality that he is now, “Much have I seen and known / Myself not least” (13-15).
Moreover, for Ulysses journey means all. In poem Ulysses says: “How dull it is to pause, to make an end” (22). He is bored with stopping, because his obsession with travelling is the strongest feeling that he has. He wants to move on, to progress, and to find out new goals in the life. In addition, from the line “and vile it were / For some three suns to store and hoard myself” (28-29) we can see that owing to this desire he doesn’t seem to care about himself, he just wants to take all the best from the life right now because obstacles and challenges is the main purpose of his being. And after he copes with this, he feels taste of victory that at the same time motivates him to look for other adventures.
Ulysses is the person who is true to his convictions and his aims. He stands one step from the death and in the end of his days he doesn’t feel himself as alive as before, he is “not now that strength which in old days / Moved earth and heaven” (66-67). However, it would be a mistake if we think that this hero gave up, because the peculiar feature of Ulysses’ personality is that he is a fighter. Despite his corporal weakness, he has a strong spirit, he is “strong in will” (69) and motivates other “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” (70).
All in all, Ulysses has a very strong personality. He is ambitious, and this quality is the mover in his life. And despite being old and weak, he will fight to the end, because inside he will always remain a true warrior with heroic heart that thirsts for journeys, challenges and adventures.
Work Cited
Tennyson, Alfred. “Ulysses”. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound & Sense. 10th ed. Ed. Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp. Cengage Learning, 2008. 745-47. Print.
