1/31/2023 0 Comments Ulysses by alfred lord tennysonHaving made the case he is useless as a king and he leaves the kingdom in good hands, Ulysses moves on to his final point. Earlier in the poem, when he talks of his previous travels, he concludes, "I am become a name." In other words, he became a legend, which is what he wants to do once more. ![]() Ulysses is not interested in serving others or helping his country he is driven wholly by ego. He ends this section of the poem by concluding, "He works his work, I mine." The reader comes to see the work of Ulysses is the work of a hero, not "the sphere / Of common duties" that is the work of a king. make mild / A rugged people." Telemachus will "Subdue them to the useful and the good," which apparently Ulysses himself cannot or does not want to do. Telemachus is "Well-loved," "discerning," "blameless," and "decent." Whereas Ulysses had described his people as "savages," he believes Telemachus will "by slow prudence. The diction describing Telemachus and the job he will do in Ithaca is radically different from what he used to describe himself as king. ![]() He talks of "drink / Life to the lees." He has "enjoy'd / Greatly," has been "loved" and "honour'd," and has "drunk delight of battle." He wants to "move" he yearns to "follow knowledge like a sinking star."Ībout halfway through the monologue he seems to point to Telemachus-"This is my son"-to whom he will leave his kingdom. He describes himself as an " idle king / By this still hearth, among these barren crags, / Match'd with an aged wife." (Emphasis added.) His subjects he describes as animalistic: "a savage race, / That hoard, and sleep, and feed." His life in Ithaca, which he deems mere existence, is not enough for him: "As tho' to breathe were life!" He sees it as a cessation of the activity that to him is truly living: "How dull it is to pause, to make an end." Like an unused sword, in Ithaca he "rust unburnish'd." When he talks about his traveling life, however, the diction is altogether different. Instead, he is identified by all the experiences he had on his travels: "I am a part of all that I have met." The diction of the first sentence gives a clear impression of how he feels about his life in Ithaca. In fact, his travels and adventures have made him who he is he is his reputation: "I am become a name." He is no longer identified with Ithaca. The first 32 lines argue there is no point for him to execute the dull duties of kingship: he yearns for action and travel.
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