The Story of a Dying Name
The legend of The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the most famous works of fiction ever created. They depict the king of Ithaca, Odysseus - Ulysses in Latin - as he travels the world on adventures. He battles great monsters, defeats enemy empires, and befriends and angers gods, before triumphantly returning home. It is easy to close The Odyssey and feel content that the story is over. However, Ulysses does not stop there. He continues to rule Ithaca for years afterwards. While it took hundreds of years, eventually a great author was able to take the complex character of Ulysses and continue his story in ways that people will most likely be studying and analysing for just as long as the original story. Albert Tennyson’s
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The narrative of the poem is told disjointedly according to some, and even to what audience, if any, the poem is being presented can be confusing. T.S. Eliot, along with other critics, says that it does not give a sense of clear story. “[F]or narrative Tennyson had no gift at all,” Eliot went so boldly as to say (Napierkowski and Ruby 283). However, other critics argue that the structure of the poem, through its meandering way, is one of its greatest strengths. Ian Scott-Kilvert claims that the flowing structure and lyricism of "Ulysses" “illustrates… that Tennyson’s essential classicism is in his view of the poem as a work of art, with form as its distinguishing characteristic,” (Scott-Kilvert 328). He is saying that the structure is meant to represent an emotional landscape, instead of a literal one. However, similar to Eliot, no specific examples are used to support this claim. Meanwhile, Charles Mitchell argues that the poem’s strange narrative style has a purpose within the plot, and suggests it is not a monologue at all. “It has been generally assumed that the poem is formally a dramatic monologue. However, that assumption is not easily established, for the disclosure that Ulysses faces an audience comes gradually and belatedly,” (Mitchell 289). He argues that the poem is spoken …show more content…
It is key, in this interpretation, to look at the context of when the poem was written. "Ulysses" was written in 1933, part of a ten year break of Tennyson from publishing, following the death of his close friend Arthur Hallam. The man’s death had a huge influence on Tennyson’s life and thinking (Napierkowski and Ruby 277). Critics claim that themes of death worked their way into most of Tennyson’s works at this time. “Tennyson related death to this tale of Ulysses’ desire to return to a life of adventure,” (Napierkowski and Ruby 277). This statement seems strange, until one looks at what many interpretations of the poem suggest his final voyage truly represents. Charles Mitchell says that he “feel[s] that Ulysses’ major tension is… fixed in the outer conflict between his will and death.” Mitchell thinks that Ulysses is about to die, and is struggling with his own legendary status, and how the two can mesh (Mitchell 289). Mitchell brings up the line “I am become a name” again, claiming that it is Ulysses reasoning that since he is a legend, he cannot truly die, he has been immortalized (Mitchell 292) (Tennyson). “[I]n the first paragraph Ulysses implies that he has explored the known world, in the last paragraph, which deals with the future, he goes to “seek a newer world.” Mitchell claims that this new world is the after life, and after all that Ulysses has been
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
It defined and sustained Greek society for hundreds of years much like the Bible once did in Christian nations. Yet, despite its archaic nature, The Odyssey remains fresh two and a half millennia after its conception. Homer's world has woven the fantastic together with the ordinary in such a way that it will never fall apart. In a significant sense, The Odyssey is immortal. Works Cited:..
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
In Ithaca, the depth of Joyce's irony is displayed. The denouement of this odyssey is perfect for this story, while at the same time leaving us with the exact opposite of the resolution in the tale the book proclaims to emulate. Odysseus' public apotheosis parallels Bloom's private shame. The concise question and answer format which Ithaca adopts, found no where else in the book, is refereed to by many critics as reminiscent of a catechism. The description is well deserved given the overt religious themes in Ulysses. The almost mathematical precision of the text in juxtaposed with gut wrenching emotion surrounding infidelity. The parallels that one can draw between the characters of Ulysses and the Odyssey are perhaps the deepest in Ithaca while the themes and undertones of the work drift further apart.
Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when it be obeyed”. The book, The Odyssey, written by Homer, explains about a man named Odysseus and his ten year journey home from the Trojan War. During his journey, he encounters new challenges such as battling mythical creatures and surviving the situations the gods and goddesses create. However in the end, he must prove himself worthy to the people of Ithaca and to his family. Considering this, Homer represents Odysseus as an epic hero multiple times. The author uses the element, leadership to develop Odysseus for his noble deeds. The author also describes him as being glorified, or worshipped by others. Therefore, Odysseus truly is an epic hero because of the descriptions Homer uses to describe Odysseus’s strategic acts in times of need and the growing inspiration everyone has for him.
Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, is a heroic narrative that follows the adventures of Odysseus, the powerful King of Ithaca. The main story involves Odysseus’s return journey to his homeland after the Trojan War. However, Homer skips around in the action periodically to give the reader a better understanding and interest in what is going on in the epic. Homer takes his audience from the present action involving Telemakhos’ search for news of his father’s return, to the past where Odysseus tells the Phaiakians of his tragic journey home after the war. The events in Homer’s epic are not in order but still prove more effective at guiding the reader through the narrative. Although the events in the Odyssey are not in chronological order, the story line is enriched by Homer’s use of the in media res method because it introduces characters that were not involved in Odysseus’ adventure, because it shows the urgency of Odysseus’ return to his kingdom, and because it allows the reader to become more interested in the opening chapters without having to wait for a climax in the action.
The Odyssey is an epic poem that was written by a man called Homer who is believed to have lived hundreds of years ago. In his 12,000 line story, he captures the adventure of a man named Odyssey who is trying to return home from war to his wife and son. He faces several forms of trouble and deterrents that encompass everything from monsters to gods to people. The reader can look at these events, the symbols, the motifs, and the relationships in the story between different characters in the story to determine the theme of the story. Each part plays a role in forming the themes, though it can sometimes be hard for the reader to analyze each part of the story effectively.
Most poems exaggerate the qualities of their heroes. In the poems Beowulf and Ulysses, they express the journeys of two epic heroes. Beowulf and Ulysses share many similarities but ultimately have different points of view on why/how they fight their battles.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
After all the battles and fame he has won Ulysses realizes his old age and feels required to “pause, to make and end, / To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! / As though to breathe were life!”(22-24) Ulysses reveals on lines 25-31, his old age and fear of dying, but rejects death’s attempt to muscle its way into his life.
In this poem, Tennyson reworks the figure of Ulysses by drawing on the ancient hero of Homer's Odyssey. Homer's Ulysses learns from a prophecy that he will take a final sea voyage after killing the suitors of his wife Penelope. Ulysses finds himself restless in Ithaca and driven by "the longing I had to gain experience of the world”.
T.S. Eliot declared that Ulysses was a masterpiece because it demonstrated the futility of all prior literary styles. Indeed, the episodes of "Oxen of the Sun" and "Aeolus" could be taken as challenging primers on English style and rhetoric. This kaleidoscopic potential is seemingly reduced to a stark black-and-white vision in "Nausicaa." As many critics have pointed out, Joyce stylizes Gerty MacDowell's half of the narrative with a saccharine veneer which euphemizes her sexual encounter (itself a distanced and euphemized rendezvous) with Bloom. The first-time reader and seasoned critics alike are led into sneering at Gerty behind the safety of the author's overt critique of her superficiality; only when Joyce reveals the psychological origin of her constant evasion - her lame leg, a condition which is only hinted at until Bloom notices it post-climax - are the first seeds of pity sown in the reader's mind. The audience's appreciation of Gerty's "defect" grows "ten times worse" (301) in light of Bloom's uncharacteristically cavalier and scurrilous attitude towards a fellow outsider in which he, too, is guilty of his own brand of sexual evasion. As the reader implicitly identifies Bloom's rather heartless outlook with his own, he compensates for his initial condemnation of Gerty's character by sentimentalizing her with a Dickensian gloss - and thus is held as culpable of evasion as the episode's heroine and hero. Joyce's manipulation of his audience's expectations is never deployed through explicit moralizing but through his parallactic style (a concept distinct from the stylistic cornucopia present elsewhere in the novel), a shifting mode through which he questions t...
Tennyson brings out the agony felt by Ulysses at his old age, The influence of the Industrial age can be seen in Tennyson's usage of the word 'profits' in the very first line . The character calls himself 'idle' showing his disillusionment at this ripe stage of life .The "still hearth" and "the barren crags" symbolize death. He continues complaining about his hapless state and the reader begins to detect the shallowness of character of this otherwise larger than life legend. He is so self-centered and full of self pity that he shows scant respect for those close to him and those that he rules as seen in lines 4-5. His pride keeps him from calling himself old, in that many words ; He has to allude to his wife's age to let the reader in on his own advanced years.
First, Ulysses, has lived a great life and never lets anything come between him. Age is something that will eventually lead to death. One could only wish for eternal life, but instead Ulysses had a different perspective of what he thought on life. Even though it is highly impossible to do what one human male or female could do when they were in their mid-teens or pre-adults, instead this was motivation to Ulysses. This was the life to cherish, him and his mariners should go further in life, do things they have always wanted to do...
Homer's Odyssey depicts the life of a middle-aged, while Tennyson's "Ulysses" describes Ulysses as an old man. The character's role in his son's life shifts. With maturity, Telemachus does not require as much guidance from his father. However, time does not alter the caring fellowship the man has with his crew, nor the willpower that he possesses in achieving his goals.