Tennysons Ulysses as a Victorian Role Model Essay

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 â€Å"Poems,† Tennyson writes â€Å"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†¦show more content†¦Ulysses desires to begin a new journey, a journey for the knowledge of things that he has not before seen, heard, nor dreamed. The last stanza of the poem is Ulysses attempt to strengthen his crew’s spirit. Ulysses admi ts that they all are growing old, but he says there is still honor and work to be done at an old age. He and his crew have become a unified spirit of courage. That spirit may have been made weak by time and fate, but they have held to their resolve to accomplish whatever they strive for. The most important thing to Ulysses is for his crew to never give up, never loose their desire â€Å"to strive, to seek, to find† (Tennyson 70). With help from the form and language of the poem, Tennyson is able to directly express Ulysses inconsistent mood brought upon by his return home. â€Å"Ulysses† was written as a dramatic monologue in iambic pentameter, which adds a elegant and unconstrained flow to Ulysses speech. The lines are in blank verse, probably used since the basic story is derived from epics, allowing Ulysses’ speech to sound more smooth and natural. His thoughts do not end with each full line. Rather, the sentences often end in the middle, appropriate for this poem about pushing forward â€Å"beyond the utmost bound of human thought† (Tennyson 32). The poem is divided into three sections, each with its own theme. The first is about his hunger and thirst for life, the second about the love for his son,