The poem I chose to write about is “Ulysses”, by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is
a poem based on Homer’s Odyssey, which is the story of Odysseus (Ulysses) and
his journeys. Odysseus was King of Ithaca and leader of the Greek army. The
Greeks sailed into Troy to fight what turned out to be a lengthy battle. After
ten years at war, Odysseus and the Greek army conquered Troy and set out on
their voyage home. On their journey they encountered a series of adventures. I
plan to discuss what the poem “Ulysses” is about, why it was written and
what it means. “Ulysses” is a speech Odysseus gives to his sailors,
rebelling against his life and conformity, after he reclaimed the throne in
Ithaca. According to Dante, Ulysses never returned to Ithaca because of his love
for adventure. Tennyson combines Dante’s ending with Homer’s to show
Ulysses’ rebellious nature. In his speech Ulysses explains why he wants to
leave Ithaca forever. He says that he has returned home and found his wife is
old and his duties as King are only to make sure the laws are kept. He does not
want to live a life of conformity, instead he wants to “drink/Life to the
lees” (283). Lees are the sediments left at the bottom of wine when it is
made. Ulysses is saying that he wants to live life to the fullest and that he is
leaving because he has become a part of the world that he created through his
journeys. Tennyson shows this in the statement, “I am part of all that I have
met” (283). Ulysses feels that if he stays in Ithaca he will be wasting his
life. He says that he does not want to feel like a set of armor left to rust.
Telemechus, Ulysses’ son, is left in charge as King of Ithaca. Ulysses
believes that his son is better for Ithaca than he would be. He also feels the
ocean and his boat calling him for one more adventure. Tennyson writes, “There
lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail” (284). He calls his friends and
tries to inspire them to join him on his new journey. He says that together they
have moved mountains and though they are not as strong as they once were, they
still have a strong will. According to Tennyson, Ulysses tries to encourage his
men by saying, “Come, my friends, ‘tis not too late to seek a newer
world”(284). The speech is ended by Ulysses telling his men “not to
yield”, but to rebel and never conform to society. This poem was Ulysses’
rebellion against conformity. He was a man who traveled the seas and had new
adventures every day. Ulysses feels that if he were to give that up, his life
would have no point. He could not live a life that he felt was meaningless.
Tennyson shows that Ulysses does not want his life to end this way when he
states, “My purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset, and the baths of all the
western stars, until I die”(284). The reason I chose the poem “Ulysses”,
is because I have read and enjoyed Homer’s Odyssey. The fact that this poem is
based on the Odyssey and about Ulysses speech really caught my attention.
Tennyson creates a very powerful character of Ulysses through the words of this
poem. While I read it, I could picture Ulysses standing in front of his men
pleading and trying to persuade them to join him on one last journey. According
to Tennyson, Ulysses’ reasoning was that “Some work of noble note, may yet
be done”(284). I could also picture myself among Ulysses’ men, getting
excited and energized, as if he was a coach giving a prep talk before a big
game. The poem “Ulysses” is very different from most poems in that it is the
speech of one man, written by another. I feel this approach by Tennyson, was
very successful in creating a powerful image of Ulysses’ speech. The poem
emphasized Ulysses rebellion against conformity. At the end of the poem, Ulysses
placed his son in charge of Ithaca and set his sails west to an untold
adventure.