Ulysses

What makes a good life? Is it a life of adventure, or of settling down? What happens when life throws challenges at you? Do you face them bravely and continue forward, or do you pull away in retreat?

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in his 1842 poem 'Ulysses', explores these questions. Though it was written in 1833, it's a timeless poem about a timeless character. He wrestles with tensions, such as the tension between the lived and the unlived life, the dissatisfaction that comes with accomplishment, and the inevitable nature of one’s identity.

Drawing of the mythical hero Odysseus (Ulysses) tied to the mast of his ship, Wikimedia.org

'Ulysses': Literary Context and Background

Let's consider the background of the poem.

Homer's Odyssey

The speaker and content of Tennyson’s poem 'Ulysses' are based on the ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey (1616) by Homer. In Homer’s Odyssey (written between 725–675 BCE), Odysseus (whose Latinized name is Ulysses) is the King of Ithaca. He journeys home for ten years after fighting in the Trojan war. Throughout his journey, he and his mariners face danger and perils of all kinds. Because he had been gone for many years, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus presume Odysseus is dead. When Odysseus finally returns home, he and Telemachus must slay the suitors who have taken over his land. Once they do so, he is reunited with Penelope. Ithaca is at peace once again, but Odysseus must leave on another brief journey to appease Poseidon, the god of the sea and waters.

Portrait of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Wikimedia.org

'Ulysses': Autobiographical Context

What about the autobiographical background of the poem?

Death of Arthur Henry Hallam

Tennyson wrote much of his best work following the sudden death of his beloved friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. At the time, Tennyson was also living at home to help his mother and eight siblings after the death of their father in 1831. With increasing domestic duties — and mounting grief — Tennyson penned 'Ulysses.' In fact, Tennyson said that Ulysses’s brave defiance of his household circumstances got him interested in the Greek myth in the first place. Tennyson said¹ that the poem

'Ulysses': Summary

After he reminisces, he speaks again in the present moment and bemoans his current state: “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rest unburnished, to not shine in use!” (lines 22-23). Here, he begins to think about the possibility of leaving again — to find new knowledge, travel uncharted seas, and embark on another journey.

The speaker then shifts his focus to his son, Telemachus, whom he admires but feels disconnected from. Ulysses draws a sharp contrast between him and his son. Where Ulysses has “drunk delight of battle with my peers, far on the ringing plains of Troy,” (lines 16-17), he sees Telemachus as tender, mild-mannered, and a ruler of the domestic sphere. Although he trusts Ithaca will be in good hands with Telemachus at the helm after he is gone, Ulysses believes the two men have divergent paths. To close this aside, he says, “He works his work, I mine” (line 43), indicating their separate ways.

Ulysses’s focus shifts from his son to the nearby port. He sees the boat, the open seas, and his mariners. He acknowledges their old age, but he believes there may be something out there that has yet to be done. He notes how the “lights begin to twinkle from the rocks” (line 54), which illustrates his growing desire for adventure. He declares, toward the end of the poem, “'Tis not too late to seek a newer world” (line 57). Even though he is not as young, strong, or energetic as he was in his youth, he cannot stop himself from going. The poem ends with the famous lines:

'Ulysses': The Text

Critical Analysis of the Poem 'Ulysses'

Literary Devices in 'Ulysses'

What literary devices are used in the poem?

Metaphor

If we take the literary and autobiographical contexts into account when reading the poem, we can interpret Ulysses's desire for another quest as a desire to find the meaning of life. If he stays home, he will wither away, and perhaps the life he lived will amount to nothing. But if he goes, then he can find the answers to life that he is looking for. His life can then have meaning. This metaphor is most apparent in lines 22-23. Ulysses says, "How dull it is pause, to make an end, To rest unburnished, not to shine in use!" He compares himself to a tool that no longer has any use and becomes dull and rusty as a result.

Contrast

Tennyson strikes several contrasts throughout the poem to heighten the poem’s tension and reinforce its themes. Ulysses does not feel “at home” at home – he only feels at home when he’s at sea. He also juxtaposes himself with his son, who he believes is “discerning to fulfill” the labor of domestic and civic management. These contrasts illuminate that Ulysses is exactly who he is, and nothing more – a perpetual mariner.

Diction

When Ulysses speaks of his time at sea, he uses words that suggest vitality, movement, and grandiosity.

His use of “drink,” (line 6), “drunk delight” (line 16), "gleams" (line 20), “frolic,” (line 47), “thunder and sunshine” (line 48), and “twinkle" (line 54) suggest his desire for unrest is intoxicating, fulfilling, and bigger than himself. When he speaks of staying home, he uses words with darker, lifeless connotations, such as “dull,” (line 22), “eternal silence,” (line 27), “vile” (line 28), and “yield” (line 70). These word choices reinforce the notion of Ulysses's feeling of discontent at home and his yearning for something more.

One of the most famous lines of the poem arrives at the end. As Ulysses feels compelled to go back out to sea, he states: "that which we are, we are" (line 67). This is a statement of resolution. Ulysses is who he is – a man who belongs at sea. Despite his old age and weak stature, his heart still yearns for the life of adventure. By ending the poem with this sentiment, Tennyson remarks that people are who they are. In other words, their identity is inevitable.

The life unlived

One irony in this poem is the perspective Ulysses has on "the unlived life." As he sits at his home alongside his old wife, he feels restless and hungry for more. He states:

He's not satisfied with what he's accomplished. He feels to rest is to die. All of his past experiences have made him eager for more instead of satisfying him. Yet to anyone else, Ulysses has lived the full life. He's known "men, and manners, climates, councils, and governments" (lines 13 - 14), and he's battled through the "scudding drifts of the rainy Hyades" (line 10). This irony suggests that a person's values and beliefs about what makes the good life is individual to them. Sometimes, people don't realize what they have, so they seek greener pastures.

Symbolism in "Ulysses"

The sea and cliffs off the coast of Greece, Wikimedia.org

The Sea

The sea functions as a symbol of freedom. It is the opposite of confinement, stillness, and stability. It offers dangers and unknowns, yet Ulysses is called to it anyway. As Ulysses makes a rallying call for his mariners, he says he does not know what the voyage will bring:

This unknown is exactly what compels him to the great beyond.

Home

In contrast, home is a symbol of confinement, familiarity, and “common duties” (line 40). Ulysses views the home as the place where he will waste away and meet an “eternal silence” (line 27). It is the place for his son, who is much better suited for that kind of work.

Artist rendering of Odysseus (Ulysses) as an old man, Wikimedia.org

Ulysses

Knowing Tennyson’s background helps us to see Ulysses as a symbol of restlessness, yearning, defiance, and ambition. Tennyson wrote the poem at age 33 — even though it features an old man nearing the end of his life. Regardless, Tennyson no doubt related to Ulysses as a man who braved the challenges before him, who found discontent with domestic responsibility, and who yearned for a life full of adventure and excitement.

_{1 W.B. Stanford, The Ulysses Theme: a Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero., 1933.}