Ulysses by Lord Tennyson: General note, summary and critical analysis.

Ulysses by Lord Tennyson: General note, summary and critical analysis.

ON THE POET: Lord Tennyson(1809-92) was the most recognised and representative poet of Victorian era during much of Queen Victoria’s reign .He succeeded Wordsworth as Poet  Laureate in 1850.He started writing poetry at an early age emulating the  style of Lord Byron. Tennyson was the only poet to voice the profoundest hopes and doubts, the noblest ideals and aspirations of the age .His talent excelled in the genre of elegy. In Memoriam, an elegy written to mourn his dearest friend Arthur Henry Hallam’s death was one of the finest specimens of his craftsmanship. His ability to observe nature keenly is plausible on his representation of nature’s both as benevolent and malevolent in his poetry. His lyrics were full of pictorial representation as if he explored the musical resources of language.
HIS WORKS: Mariana, The Lady of Shalott, The Lotos Eaters, The Epic, Crossing the Bars, Ulysses, Tears Idle Tears, Idylls of the kings, PLAYS: The Foresters,

ON THE POEM: Ulysses was published in 1842 in one of his two volumes of poetry. Ulysses, also known as Odysseus was the hero of Homers epic Odyssey, and king of Ithaca, a rock island in Greece. He is mostly known for his sagacity and eloquence. During his return from the Trojan War he and his associates meet misfortunes and underwent dangerous encounters and life threatening challenges. Eventually he came home after 20 years and found his wife Penelope and son still devoted to him. The cliché of the poem is adapted from 26th canto of Dante’s inferno. Contrary to the idea of Tennyson’s The Lotos Eaters, where Ulysses’ companions yearned to regale into a delicious indolence declares_"Death is the end of life, ah, why/should life all labour be."  This particular poem celebrates the power of strong will and optimistic attitude towards life.

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