The poem Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson addresses pertinent issues in the quest to understand the worth of life. The narrator draws comparison between himself and his son Telemachus by highlighting the diverge paths they take in search of fulfillment in life. The reader is guided to understand that the narrator’s son has taken the path of noble politics in which the drive not to fail is commensurate with the “offices of tenderness and pay”. The line, “When I am gone. He works his work, I mine” is used to depict that the narrator and his son have different motivations and interests. This is further corroborated by the phrase, “…that which we are, we are” to imply that an individual ought to be satisfied with their stature and abilities, and their contribution to the happiness. The approach adopted by Tennyson in the poem is used to justify the narrator’s choice of pursuit of life’s worth and happiness through adventure. Ulysses, who is the narrator in the poem, is an aging king with an argue to experience what it felt like to don his armor and rise off in search of battle, glory, and adventure. Having fought and won many battles, the king has no intention to rule because the desires of his heart lie elsewhere. Tennyson uses comparison, figurative language, and imagery to advance the theme of life is worth living to the end.
Tennyson draws a number of comparisons using the setting and characters in the poem. In the onset of the poem, the king appears to ridicule the life in the hearth at the castle or palace. The king observes that meting and doling with an old wife, applying unequal laws, and hoarding, sleeping, and eating, was unlike him. According to Ulysses, these things do not profit an idle king. On the contrary, the king observes, “I cannot rest from travel: I will drink …” which implies that he prefers the search for battle, glory, and adventure to that of a cozy palace. The king evidently prefers the life of hardship and activity as a process for continued search of the meaning of life. This can be deciphered in the lines, “All times I have enjoy'd greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone, on shore”. Here, the life of adventure is compared to the sedentary life at the castle with the objective to demonstrate that the former was worth living by the king’s parameters. Similarly, Tennyson uses the young Telemachus and the old Ulysses to contrast the motivations that drive the quest for life worth. Logically, one would expect that young to be the one motivated to explore and experience the world, but such is not the case in the pome. The king notes that his son was comfortable running politics at the castle, where he was “…centered in the sphere, of common duties, decent not to fail”. Ulysses speaks patronizingly of Telemachus to whom he leaves “the scepter and the isle” because he is deemed capable of refining the ‘rugged’ people, is devoted to the Gods, and dedicated to duties. On the contrary, Ulysses desires lay in his ships and the sea, which were conduits to the world of adventure that has given them meaning in life. The two scenarios depict the differences in what different people find to be of value in life.
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Tennyson uses figurative language to depict the manner Ulysses, the king, is endeared to life of adventure. After criticism of life at the castle, the king describes his life of travel with unrivalled adoration. The king notes that they were “…always roaming with a hungry heart”, which allowed him to amass important lessons and gain honor among those they met and interacted with. This is captured in the lines, “Much have I seen and known; cities of men and manners, climates, councils, governments, myself not least, but honour'd of them all.” Tennyson used figurative language to depict Ulysses nostalgic monologue of why they yearned for adventure. “…all experience is an arch wherethro, Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades” are figures of used by Tennyson to present Ulysses predicament at the castle as a commodity that is bound to lose its value if unused. A similar approach is used to present an alternative perceived by Ulysses as his salvation from what he deemed to be of too little value to him. The lines, “For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this gray spirit yearning in desire, To follow knowledge like a sinking star”, demonstrate that Ulysses was intent on revisiting his adventure experiences.
Imagery and descriptive techniques are used by Tennyson to depict the attractiveness of Ulysses preferences of live worth that are founded in the quest for battle, glory, and adventure. The king consistently refers to the celebratory nature of his journeys through drinking, “… I will drink …And drunk delight of battle with my peers”. Tennyson paints a picture of every victory in battle being celebrated with friends by drinking copiously. A similar technique is in Ulysses description of the port, ship, and sailors. “There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me”. These lines describe not only the physique of the ship and the mariners, but also highlight the strong bond between Ulysses and them from shared experiences of being battered by the sea and battle. Imagery and symbolism are jointly used in the description of the journey to facilitate understanding of Ulysses motivation to experience the adventure once more despite his old age. The description of the events of nature is used to illustrate the long nature of the journey in the lines, “The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep, Moans round with many voices.” Ulysses follows the description with a call to action to his mariners, arguing them that “Tis not too late to seek a newer world”. Their motivation life in sailing and dying “the sunset, and the baths of all the western stars” in the hope that they may touch the “Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles.” The techniques are used by Tennyson to show that even in old age, Ulysses believed that happiness could only be realized by discovering what life beyond one comfort zone has presented. Taking the voyage of adventure symbolizes the quest for experiences that make life worth living.
