“Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, is a poem in which one of the most famous characters from “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus seemingly ponders his life and death. These are deep reflections by Odysseus on battles fought, the travels of his long life, and the loss of friends in many of his life’s journey. Tennyson is expressing Odysseus’s own introspective attempt to sum up, in his final days or moments, the bittersweet life which he lived. Odysseus is describe as intelligent, fierce, clever, and a powerful warrior in “The Iliad and The Odyssey” by Homer. To understand the themes of “Ulysses” reading “The Iliad and The Odyssey” by Homer is necessary reference material.
The story of Odysseus is the tail of a man left for war on foreign shores only to be tormented by the Gods on his return home. The journey itself, titled “The Odyssey” by Homer, tells of the perils, miracles and tragedies that befall Odysseus. While Odysseus struggles to reach home, interlopers invade his home in hopes of stealing his wife, riches, and land. His own son Telemachus is in mortal peril until the father and son reunite. Such was the life of Odysseus, so these poetic machinations could indeed give complex insight into this mythical literary figure.
“Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson expresses the weariness of Odysseus, and the
