Ulysses as a Victorian Role Model
Ulysses is a classical hero who reappears in the literary work of great poets such as Homer and Tennyson. During the Victorian era, Alfred Lord Tennyson was one of the most famous poets in England, he even held Britain’s prestigious position of Poet Laureate. Tennyson began writing during a period in which duty and conformity were traits that distinguished the middle class from the lower class. In a two-volume collection of “Poems,” Tennyson writes “Ulysses” after the death of a close friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. Hallam inspired the character Ulysses, while the loss of the special friendship influenced the tone of the piece. The Ancient Greek hero describes his loathing of regal position and desire to travel before his impending death. Amongst the underlying grief, Tennyson utilized the poetic form of dramatic monologue to protest the social values of the era. In the poem “Ulysses,” Tennyson expresses his view on the need for individual assertion and rebellion against bourgeois conformity, the result is the development of a very self-righteous character that places more value on himself than the external world.
Ulysses longs for a journey of the mind and soul “to follow knowledge like a sinking star” (Tennyson 31) and leaves behind the responsibility of his kingdom. Ulysses seems to feel unimportant when he is at home by his “still hearth”, “among barren crags” (Tennyson 2). He would rather be experiencing “the drunk delight of battle” (Tennyson 16) than spending time with his “aged wife” (Tennyson 3). Ulysses explains his motivation: “I cannot rest from travel, I will drink/ Life to the lees” (Tennyson 6-7). Ulysses feels he is living without truly being alive and only memories from his pa...
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...strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” (Tennyson 70), placing a romantic image in the audiences’ head of Ulysses sailing away, and hopeful.
Works Cited
Tennyson, Alfred Lord. “Ulysses.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Christ,
Carol T., Catherine Robson, and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.
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E. J. Chiasson, "Tennyson's 'Ulysses'—A Re-Interpretation." Critical Essays on the Poetry of
Tennyson. Ed. John Killham (New York: 1960), 164–173
Mazzeno, Laurence W. "Alfred, Lord Tennyson." Critical Survey of Poetry. Ed. Frank N.
Magill. Vol. 7. New Jersey: Salem Press, Inc., 1982. 8 vols.
Robbins, Tony. “Tennyson's ‘Ulysses’: The Significance of the Homeric and Dantesque
Backgrounds.” Victorian Poetry. Vol. 11, No. 3. West Virginia UP,
(Autumn, 1973),177-193
... Works Cited Everett, Nicholas. From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton.
Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "In Memoriam A. H. H." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 3rd ed., Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1974. 1042-84.
strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” (Tennyson 1172). Ulysses filled his head with foolish fantasies, abandoned responsibility, and selfishly left his kingdom and family to have an
"John William Waterhouse's Ulysses and the Sirens." John William Waterhouse's Ulysses and the Sirens. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman) was one of the great Pan-Hellenic heroes of Greek mythology. Famous for his courage, intelligence and leadership he was most recognized through his resourcefulness and oratory skills. Throughout classical literature and through many authors Odysseus’ characteristics have changed as much as the stories that surround him. The epic and tragedy I will focus on in particular is The Odyssey by Homer and Hecuba by Euripides. The defining characteristics of Odysseus ranges widely as is shown in Homer’s The Odyssey and Euripides’s Hecuba. The figure of Odysseus in homers The Odyssey is the antithesis of the Odysseus in Euripides Hecuba due to their historical contexts and respective audiences.
In James Joyce’s Dubliners, his writing establish many feelings of escape from reality and life throughout the story of “The Sisters.” The characters tend to escape through journeys. To begin, in the “The Sisters,” after the death of Father Flynn, the boy realizes as he takes a long walk that he has fantasized of being away from everyone and everything: “As I walked along […] I felt that I had been very far away, in some land where the customs were strange – in Persia, I thought. … But I could not remember the end of the dream” (Joyce 5-6). The boy dreams of being away from reality in an entirety where he journeys alone to escape everyday life in Dublin. A second journey which introduces the theme of escape is when Eliza remembers the time that her brother, Father Flynn, spoke o...
When Ulysses and his men leave the island of the Ciconians, their ships began to leak. Ulysses knows they cannot spare food or water; it is their treasure from Troy that must go. His men are upset at this prospect, ¨But Ulysses cast over his own share of the treasure - and his was the largest - so the men had to bite back their rage . . .¨ (p. 8) This example shows that Ulysses' mindset is selfless; he knows if they want to get home, they will have to sacrifice something that is important to them - the treasure. This also shows Ulysses as an effective leader because he is leading by example. Ulysses, by throwing away his own large share of the treasure, is showing his men that getting home safely is more important that treasure Another example of Ulysses' selflessness is when they must pass by the Sirens. Ulysses protects all his men by stuffing their ears with wax so they will not hear the deadly song of the Sirens. However, he knows that to sail the ship, he must be aware of his surroundings, particularly the wind, so Ulysses tells his men ¨'First you must bind me to the mast. Tie me tightly, as though I were a dangerous captive. And no matter how I struggle, no matter what signals I make to you, do not release me . . .'¨(p. 86) This shows Ulysses selflessness because he is willing to suffer for the greater good; he is willing to have himself tied up to protect his men and steer the ship
Blunden, Edmund and Heinemann, Eds. “Tennyson.” Selected Poems. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1960. p.1. print.
Stanford, W. B. The Ulysses Theme: A Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero. Dallas, TX: Spring Publications, 1992.
Ulysses’s heroism is hown in his wisdom and knowledge of outcomes. One example of this quality in the book is when Ulysses commands “no matter how I struggle, no matter what signals I make to you, do not release me, least I follow their voice to destruction, taking you with me” (87 Evslin). This makes Ulysses an epic hero because he is wise in the sense of giving his men precautions and is preparing for the worst outcome to possibly happen. It is also wise for Ulysses to warn and prepare his men for this, because knowing the importance of teamwork, Ulysses’s command requires dependance and effort from every crewmate.
...old age or barriers, he will always strive to fulfill his goals. The experiences of Odysseus and Ulysses are tributes to the power of the human spirit; one can achieve much if they are determined.
... days the about life span of his characters-as Joyce world do in 'The Dead' in Ulysses, and perhaps in Finnegan's Wake." (Atteridge p.65) There was an increasing concentration on form and language in Joyce's five novels. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce in a few lines, describes Stephan, Dedalues's mood and characters.
Every day in our lives, we look around and we wonder about the people around us. There is good and evil in our world and we the people are the ones that are easily influenced by those events whether its poverty, disease, war, or even if were just people trying to figure out the kind person we are. We have the power to choose our own path, just like the characters in James Joyce and Homer’s stories: Odysseus and Leopold Bloom. Both characters have shown different qualities and traits that showed the readers why they are the heroes in their own perspective stories. Odysseus is a man who left his home of Ithaca, his wife and child, to fight in
330-337. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord of the Lord. The Lady of Shalott. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed.
He was seeking something beyond death is evident in "for my purpose holds .To sail beyond sunset."What does he mean by " seek a newer world"(57).When we see Ulysses in this light we realize that the faults we sought in him in the initial stages of the poem are failings only as perceived by a society "centered in the sphere of common duties"(39). Otherwise they were not faults but relentless endeavors of a restless soul to seek that which is beyond the realms of human thought.