Poem: Ulysses
— By Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy’d
Greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when
Thro’ scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour’d of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!
As tho’ to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

——– This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro’ soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

——– There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
‘T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Summary

At first, the poem starts with a description of an ideal King. He was sitting with his aged wife beside the firehouse. The poem is based on Greek mythology. Ulysses was known as Odysseus in Greece. He was the king of Ithaca in Greece. He fought against the Trojans and defeated them. After the Trojan War, he returned home. His return journey took ten years. So, when he returned home he became old. His wife, Penelope became also old. His son, Telemachus grew to be a young man who had been ruling the kingdom with great interest. But when Ulysses reached his kingdom, the crown couldn’t attract him. He decided to go on a new adventure. This poem records Ulysses’s mental strength. However, Ulysses’s mental strength has been used in this poem in the Victorian context. The poem deals with the thriving spirit that reflects the Victorian passion for knowledge, exploration, discovery, and invention.

Rhyme Scheme

A rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse. There are no rhymes in the poem because it was written with blank verse. Blank verse was a traditional format in the Victorian Age. Each of its lines is an iambic pentameter line. It means each line consists of ten syllables, which are alternatively stressed and these iambic lines do not rhyme at the end.

Tone and Mood

The tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” is told about an aged hero, who was returning to Ithaca. The poem is composed of three stanzas and the mood and tone change from one to the next.

In the first stanza, Ulysses reflects on his past adventures and compares them to his current quiet life. The mood is restless and dissatisfied. Considering his past glories cheers him, but comparing them to his present state pulls Ulysses’s tone back into frustration, and even despair.

In the second stanza, the mood changes. The mood is assertive and the tone is brisk, as Ulysses lists Telemachus’s credentials for ruling to justify his decision to leave Ithaca.

In the third stanza, having made his decision and the appropriate arrangements for leaving Ithaca, Ulysses’s mood lifts. While he knows that he is old and his best days are perhaps behind him, Ulysses embraces the chance to adventure out once again and make the most of the time that he has left.

Structure

Structurally the poem is composed in the form of a dramatic monologue. Here, a single speaker is Ulysses, not the poet. Ulysses speaks throughout the poem. It is understood that there are some listeners who remain silent. The listeners are Ulysses’ old comrades whom he addresses as “My mariners” and “my friends”, and encourages them to start a new adventure. The speaker of the poem reveals his personality, his desires, and his philosophy of life. However, the poem lacks the analysis of the psyche of the speaker, which is famous in dramatic monologue. So it’s an example of a dramatic monologue.

Theme

The theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme.

The central theme of “Ulysses” is that there is a search for adventure, experience, and meaning which makes life worth living. Tennyson used Ulysses as the old adventurer, unwilling to accept the settling of old age, longing for one more quest. A strong sense of urgency for a new journey pervades ” Ulysses”. Whenever he talks about going back to sea he refers to death. So he does not want to waste his time by unusual things. The poet says through ‘Ulysses’ “I want to drink life to the lees. He says that he will pursue great adventures ” Until I die”.

Authors Position

When an author writes to persuade, he/she will have his/her own position on the subject. The author’s position is an author’s opinion about the subject. It may be subjective or objective.

Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings, emotion, and own choice.

Objective means where the writer can’t use his/her own feelings, emotions, and own choice.

The speaker doesn’t use his personal experience or personal thoughts so it’s an objective poem.

Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech mean the use of ornamental elements in a piece of writing.

Assonance: Repetition of a vowel sound.
Example: “It little profits that an idle king”.
It has been repeated

Alliteration: Repetition of a consonant sound.
Example: “Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole”.
It has been repeated.

Allusion: A Reference that has been taken from Bible or any other mythological characters.
Example: ” Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy”.

Simile: Comparison between two far-faced things with the help of “as” or “like”.
Example: ” To follow knowledge, like a sinking star”.

Personification: Given an imaginary life to a lifeless thing.
Example: “the vessel puffs her sail”.Here, the vessel is treated as a living being.