Critical Analysis of 'Ulysses' by Alfred Lord Tennyson

The Narrative

King Ulysses returns home to Ithaca from a long journey of fighting in the
Trojan Wars.
He feels uneasy as he knows he is meant for more meaningful things.
His pursuit of knowledge beyond human bounds and for his adventures =
positive
His selfish disregard of his family = negative

Feels as if he represents all who roam the earth

He has enjoyed and suffered both experiences he feels are worthwhile; it is
important for a man to experience both good and bad
He feels as if he is a sum of all the experiences he has had, that they have
made him into the person he is.
He compares himself to a metal, that is still full of shine but if he is not active
for a while he could rust
He feels life is beyond just breathing and surviving.
Ulysses feels an urgency to leave as he feels death is nearing him
refers to himself as a sinking star and grey-spirited.

This sunset is symbolic of the nearing end of his life.

Poetics

traditional blank verse

unrhymed Iambic Pentameter, which serves to impart a fluid and natural
quality to Ulysses speech.
It slows down the pace and movement of the poem. Therefore, the laboring
language reflects the stagnation that had set in the life of Ulysses.
It was written in 1833 and published in 1842.
Dramatic Monologue reveals to the reader the speakers temperament and
character.

Stanza 1
still hearth. The metaphor is employed to comment on his own condition. Like a
fireplace, it no longer carries the flame in it, only the ashes of a once fiery lifestyle.
The phrase "barren crags" points to Ithaca; reflects on the crude state of affairs in the
kings life; and the sterility that prevails.
The term mete and dole: alludes to the weighing of decisions mentally.

Stanza 2
lees implies the residual part of the drink that lies at the bottom of the glass.
scudding drifts or broken clouds that are themselves wanderers.
'Hyades' refers to a cluster of seven stars that formed the head/ face of the
constellation, namely Taurus; juxtaposes the ideas of fertility in opposition to Ulysses'
current predicament of a sterile existence.
hungry heart, implies that not only does the mind crave intellectual adventures, but
emotional challenges as well; He has remained an active participant rather than
being a passive spectator
Each form of experience is like an archway; from each point one can discern the
unexplored regions. The nearer one reaches the area, the farther do their borders
recede.
Ulysses asserts that even if he was gifted with innumerable lives, it would be
inadequate to quench his insatiable thirst for the new avenues of knowledge and
experience.
eternal silence, namely death.

Stanza 3
In the third stanza, he speaks of his son, Telemachus, patronizingly to whom he
leaves the scepter and the isle.
Stanza 4
In an aphoristic statement, he inspires them, "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield