Samantha Lee Martinez Professor Cuono Honors English 2 20 February 2013 Ulysses A journey is an act of getting from one

point to another point; it can be both mentally and physically. In literature, there are many works that involves journey. One of the well known literary works is Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This poem has a strong theme about life, time, and journey. This poem gives a message to the readers that one should make the most of lifes opportunities. One should make most of the time given. Life should be an adventure and a journey to your life goal. The speaker of this poem is Ulysses himself. Ulysses is the Roman name for Odyssey, who is a Greek hero. Ulysses is the husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and was the king of Ithaca. Ulysses is also well known for his idea of the Trojan horse. In this poem, Ulysses is portrayed as a sailor, a retired soldier, and a retired king. He is old and weak and isnt as strong as he used to be. However, Ulysses talks about his longing to continue his journey and his adventure to travel the world. The poem starts with Ulysses feeling restless, he doesnt like the feeling of staying home doing nothing. He believes that not much is earned from being idle and from doing nothing. Ulysses mentions his wife, who is the same age as him, and also mentions his people that do nothing but sleep and eat, and know nothing more of Ulysses other than a king. Ulysses is restless; he has the urge to travel and states that he will live life to the fullest. He has been through many adventures and has traveled on land and on

sea. Ulysses has suffered natures wrath of the hard rain and the rough seas, with or without his friends. He enjoys traveling and he enjoys his encounters in life. Ulysses reminisces about his good times and bad times during his travel, and from his visits to many places, Ulysses has become well known. He has seen many cities, different manners, weathers, and many types of governments. On the land where he has fought in Troy, Ulysses remembers all that has happened and believes that he has left a part of him in all of his visited places. The second stanza mentions Ulysses son, Telemachus. In this poem, Ulysses is a retired soldier and king. Now that he is older, Ulysses plans on giving his position to someone that is reliable and is qualified for the job. In this case, he gives the position to Telemachus. Ulysses believes that Telemachus has the proper qualifications, however he also believes that he isnt as experienced as Ulysses himself. Despite Telemachus inexperience, he is a hard worker, reliable, responsible; he is kind, and he will not fail at his job. Ulysses lends the scepter and the isle to his son and knows that he will be a great leader. This poem portrays Ulysses not only as a retired soldier and king, but it also portrays Ulysses as a sailor that has a close bond with his mariners. The third stanza starts off by mentioning a port and his experience with his mariners; how they went through thick and thin. Ulysses goes on by mention their old age and yet they still continue to set sail and travel. He still longs to continue sailing, and by doing so, he hopes to sail as far as he can. Ulysses believes that there is still time to sail, and to experience new encounters before they die. The last few lines of this poem had its deepest message about life. Restating his point, Ulysses tells us again that despite their old age, they can still go

a little bit farther. There is still time that remains, and Ulysses and his mariners must make the most of it. The ending of the poem brings out the full message to the readers, that one should live life to the fullest. Life offers many opportunities, and one should take advantage of the things that life has to offer. Theyre bodies are weak, yet their bond is strong, and so is their urge to travel. Ulysses and his mariners face challenges each day, and they continue to face them, making their will to strive strong. Having Ulysses talk about his journeys of traveling to a variety of places brings out the deepest meaning of the poems theme. It encourages readers to live life to the fullest, despite its clich reputation. In this poem, Ulysses encounters many journeys to many parts of the world. By doing so, Ulysses name become well known from many parts o the world. Ulysses encounters many different settings and learns from his experiences. Not only has Ulysses learned from his experiences of his physical journeys, but his mental journeys as well. Ulysses learns about him self, and discovers that nothing can hold him back from something he enjoys doing. He discovers that he lives off of traveling and the adventure of his journey.

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