The Symbols Of Ulysses By Tennyson

Decent Essays
Tennyson in this poem portrays a character of a head of family, in his desperate time the old family man starts to think loud. It does not seem to be an organized speech but rather, a desperate expression of what he really misses in life, some unfulfilled desires of the past, and a bit of relief from the responsibilities as a family man. In this poem, Tennyson beautifully uses the character of a king, Ulysses who just came back from a tiring battle, where a battle symbolizes the responsibilities a man has in this world. Some other symbols that are used in this poem are his prime aged friends as sailors, his life experiences as voyages and his subjects as the people of the kingdom.

At First Ulysses addresses his subjects and expresses his boredom of a monotonous pattern of life. He talks about sitting by the same fireplace everyday with his aged wife passing orders to his subjects. He says that he is too old to take care of his responsibilities as a king and he also remembers a tiring battle considering it as a major responsibility for him. He wishes to be relieved from all of his responsibilities and live a life with no obligations. He admits that he has no benefits in working for the kingdom, he declares that he has become famous around the world and he wants to live his life to the fullest, he is desperate to travel again around the
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He decides to hand over the kingdom to his son, to take care of and be responsible for. Which would give Ulysses the freedom to live his passion of travelling. He calls onto his friends and invites them to sail with him to different parts of the world. Though neither he nor his friends possess the strength to travel but according to Ulysses it is the will that needs to be strong. He is not afraid of death if it comes to him while travelling because he will have no regrets while

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