Ulysses Is a Poem by Alfred, Lord

Ulysses is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that recounts King Ulysses' experiences during his journey back to Ithaca after fighting at Troy. Throughout the poem, Tennyson is able to develop Ulysses' character through a first-person introspective of the king's experiences, which allow the reader to understand what Ulysses is thinking and what his motivations are.

At the beginning of the poem, it is quickly established that the narrator of the poem is someone of high-ranking, specifically a king. Moreover, the narrator establishes that he is old and that despite his rule and authority, he feels as though his people do not know him. Tennyson writes, "It little profits an idle king,/By this still hearth, among these barren crags,/Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole/Unequal laws unto a savage race,/That hoard, and feed, and know not me" (Tennyson lines 1-5). In these introductory lines, the narrator also establishes he is overcome with restlessness and feels as though he is being idle and his kingdom -- "these barren crags" -- do not have anything left to offer him. By referring to Ithaca's citizens as being "savage," the narrator also reveals that he thinks they are less educated or experienced than he thus they do not understand him, nor can he ever hope to understand them.

In the second stanza, the narrator begins to explain what motivates him and why he feels listless at home. The narrator contends, "I cannot rest from travel; I will drink/Life to the lees," which indicates he wants to live life to the fullest and travel until he cannot do so anymore (line 6-7). The narrator then begins to explain that he has thoroughly enjoyed all the time that he was travelling, whether his experiences were good or bad, "All times I have enjoyed/Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those/That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when/Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades/Vexed the dim sea" (line 7-11). Through his numerous adventures, the narrator also states that he has "become a name," which can mean that the narrator has become a legend, or that his reputation has come to precede him (line 11). The narrator's listlessness is once again alluded to in this second stanza. He states he is "always roaming with a hungry heart/Much have I seen and known…[and has been] honored of them all" (line 12-13, 15). In fact, the narrator boasts that he is "part of all that [he has] met," which appears to indicate that not only have experiences had a profound impact on him, but that he has also inspired those he has encountered.

A shift in the tone in the second stanza helps to demonstrate to the reader why the narrator is so listless. It appears as though the narrator has become accustomed to a busy life, "Forever and forever, when I move./How dull it is to pause, to make an end,/To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!" (line 21-23). The narrator is positing the question of what good is it to have all this knowledge and experience if he cannot share it with others? Simultaneously, the narrator is arguing what good is it to be alive if one is not going to live their life to the fullest? The ending of this second stanza, once again ties back to the narrator's unending need to travel and explore, "To follow knowledge like a sinking star,/Beyond the utmost bound of human thought" (line 31-32).

The poem's third stanza allows the narrator to finally establish his identity as Ulysses, the legendary King of Ithaca, through the introduction of his son, "This is my son, mine own Telemachus,/To whom I leave the scepter and the isle" (line 33-34). In this stanza, not only does Ulysses pass focus onto his son, but he also passes his crown to his son and while Ulysses contends that Telemachus' background and experience differs greatly, Telemachus will, "by slow prudence to make mild/A rugged people, and through soft degrees/Subdue them to the useful and the good" (line 36-38). Furthermore, Ulysses argues that Telemachus is blameless, and "decent not to fail/In offices of tenderness," which will allow him to be respected and admired by Ithaca's citizens when Ulysses leaves and leaves his beloved nation in the hands of his very capable son, Telemachus. Ulysses ends this argument by stating that Telemachus was meant to take over Ithaca and rule it justly, whereas he was destined to travel the world and pursue knowledge and experience until he died; "He works his work, I work mine" (line 43).