Alfred Tennyson's Ulysses Analysis

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Matthew Wilson Short Poem Explication ENG102 Ulysses Alfred Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” tells a story of hope, and also rebellion. Tennyson writes as Ulysses, a Greek legend who ruled Ithaca at the time period of the poem. Ulysses is growing old at the time, knowing that inevitably he will die and very soon at that. He speaks to an audience in general, while more specifically speaking to his old friends, who have voyaged with him since he can remember. Sitting atop the throne of Ithaca, Ulysses states that he is generally bored. He was once a great explorer, who, with his team, conquered all that have come across them. He reminisces the good times and the bad. But either way, he craves to explore again. He stresses that he has accomplished everything he could possibly accomplish as a ruler, and now, instead of decaying in front of a league of uncivilized people who do not even know him, he should be savoring every last drop of his lifetime by sailing once again. The poem consists of four stanzas, each one speaking to a different audience as it seems. In the first stanza, he describes on overview of his troubles. Simply put, he sees his current position as useless. He, as king, should not be surrounding himself with his own land, his equally aged wife, and a group of civilians who he sees as not civilized at all. Ulysses describes his subjects as barbaric, whose daily life consists of simply eating and sleeping. Therefore, he believes that he should not be stuck in his own kingdom making variable laws for his people. In the second stanza, Ulysses reinforces his boredom by describing his life beforehand. He is a restless spirit. He compares his life to a bottle of wine, stating that he will drink every last drop of his mortality before keeling over. Ulysses tells us that he has had many experiences in his lifetime, both good and bad, sometimes with his friends,

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