Throughout the poem, there are
several abrupt changes in tense. Ulysses speaks of the grandeur and pain of
adventure that he longs for in the past tense but goes on to proclaim “I am
become a name”. It seems that he is reassuring himself of his continuing
relevance. He is not a man of the past; he is still “a name”. There is another rapid jump in tense further along
in the poem. He begins speaking of how he “drank delight of battle with [his
peers]” but suddenly announces that “[he] is
a part of all that [he] [has] met…” It is as if he realizes that he is speaking
in the past tense and feels a need to bring his sense of adventure to the
present.
In addition to this, there is a
discord between the disparaging words that Ulysses uses to describe his son,
Telemachus and what he ultimately says about him. Ulysses appears to look down
on Telemachus for not sharing his own urge for exploration and risk. He describes
Telemachus as “slow” and “soft”, which in Ulysses’ eyes are insults. However,
he ultimately seems to convey a sense of jealousy over the fact that Telemachus
can be content with a seemingly uneventful life. This sense of jealousy is made
evident by the fact that Ulysses tries to blame the “blameless” Telemachus.
The tone of the poem changes
drastically after the line break following Ulysses’ words about Telemachus. He
speaks of adventure in the present tense, as he has done earlier in the poem,
however, nearly every statement he makes references old age, death, or some
other kind of end. The contrast between
his grandiose words of exploration and his more blunt, negative sentiments show
that he does not truly expect to be able to restart his previous, exciting
life. He ultimately seems to accept his new, idle life. He understands that
despite his past, “that which [he is], [he is]”.
Despite the force and conviction
behind Ulysses’ words, it seems that he knows that he can never actually
recapture the adventure that he longs for.
Kelly, I really liked your comment about Ulysses' jealously over his son. That was a really interesting point, and I did not originally see the character juxtaposition that way. I also think that Ulysses is jealous of his son because Telemachus has the opportunity to go through the 'coming of age' part of his life, a part that for Ulysses is long gone. I think the 'slow' and 'soft' you are referring to also reflect Telemachus' innocence. Innocence is something Ulysses may also be jealous of, since his life has left him in such a dismal place.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of the tense and other technical elements was really interesting. You brought up a number of things I didn't consider in my own work, but I don't see your conclusion as entirely agreeable with the conclusion of the poem. I think that Ulysses ends the poem with a firm knowledge that he can recapture the adventure for which he longs, though perhaps in another life. His optimism of things to come seems to change the apparent pessimism with which he views his own decaying life.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about tenses. I definitely agree with the idea that Ulysses is frightened by his age and the idea that he is simply a man who was something rather than is something.
ReplyDeleteBut I am having trouble with your point about jealousy. I do agree with Spencer's idea that Ulysses is envious of his son's youth, but I don't think that extends to his lifestyle. He claims in the beginning of the poem that he sees no merit in completing the duties of a king, the very duties he is no leaving to Telemachus. There is also no point in the poem where he explicitly denounces his lifestyle, in fact he continually glorifies it, even claiming that he would die for it.
I find that in context, the connotations of becoming "a name" could be negative. He seems displeased with his current lot in life, and the idea that he is not as glorious as he used to be; maybe being simply "a name" means he is actually out of the picture and no longer relevant.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis of the tenses as well, and saw the way he moves from past tense to present tense to promises for the future as a brilliant structural way for Tennyson to show how willing Ulysses/Odysseus is to keep pushing toward new adventures.