Talk:Ulysses (poem)

Character of Ulysses

I don't think the qutoed lines imply that Ulysses was a bad king, my Norton Critical Edition footnotes the word unequal with the meaning "fitting different situation." peterallenwebb

Could be.

One other thing - Tennyson's character appears to be based more on the Ulysses of the Divine Comedy rather than the Odysseus of the Homeric poems, which Dante, knowing no Greek, had not read. The most persuasive evidence on this point is both Dante and Tennyson reference Ulysses assembling a band of old comrades, whereas in the Odyssey, all of Odysseus's companions die in the first three years of his wanderings. Ellsworth 22:42, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Definately agree on that point. I may have some time to include information on those sources in the next week or so. peterallenwebb

It's been awhile since this was posted. I put a brief note at the end of the article, and don't have too much more to say at this time. Ellsworth 21:43, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Copyright

Given that the poem is out of copyright, is there any reason we can't reproduce it in full? --anon user who doesn't believe in accounts 00:16, 29 Dec 2006 (EST)

Literary Context

from the article "Homer's Odyssey provides the poem's narrative background: in its eleventh book the prophet Tiresias foretells that Ulysses will return to Ithaca after a difficult voyage, then begin a new, mysterious voyage, and finally die an "unwarlike" death at sea. By Tennyson's poem's end, his Ulysses is contemplating undertaking this new voyage."

Tiresias tells Odysseus that he will die FAR from sea, not on it! Worse mistake the word "unwarlike" in qoutes. Ive got Chapman and EV Rieu right in front of me. neither use anything like unwarlike. Rieu calls it a peaceful death. btw, heres a citation 11.130-138. I think that this version is either Virgil or Ovid, because they did not like Odysseus. I have not corrected the passage because it is directly related to the next sentence and I havent read Tennyson. But i do know the new voyage predicted by T in Homer is not a sea voyage. it is the paddle/winnowing fan voyage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eric Forest (talk • contribs) 08:20, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

"Unwarlike" isn't worse than your first point—it's the less debatable of your two points. Some sources give "peaceful", some "unwarlike",[1] and what's important in the context of this poem is the irony or contrast of the protaganist dying in an "unwarlike" manner, given Tennyson's poem's sentiments. It looks like the death is foretold to come "from the sea", and the meaning here is rather vague, according to a Google Books review. I will amend the article on this latter point. (Is there anything you liked about the article? You could probably count on one hand the number of extended articles on specific poems on wikipedia.) –Outriggr § 23:08, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Question regarding last comment in article section:

However, critics note that in the Homeric narrative, Ulysses' original mariners are dead. A significant irony therefore develops from Ulysses' speech to his sailors—"Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world" (56–57). Since Dante's Ulisse has already undertaken this voyage and recounts it in the Inferno, Ulysses' entire monologue can be envisioned as his recollection while situated in Hell.[30]

The following from Inferno also seems to contradict this statement:

"Therefore, I set out on the open sea with but one ship and that small company of those who never had deserted me."(Canto XXVI, 100-102). 

Ulysses then recounts the events of that last voyage leading upto and including his eventual death.I fail to see the "significant irony " that is supposedly being developed. Can somebody better versed in the subject help me clear this up. 140.117.197.118 (talk) 07:02, 3 November 2009 (UTC)An Amateur

This is a fine article, very carefully edited and I would hesitate to amend it in any way. One small point though; there appears (perhaps my mistake) to be an assumption that Tennyson's use of a source (Dante) that places Ulysses in hell implies an underlying negative attitude towards the hero, and to be evidence in favour of the "ironic" interpretation of the poem. This, though, may well not be the case, since Tennyson may have had a very different assessment of the very character traits that led Dante to implicitly condemn Ulysses. Similarly, it has always been recognised that Milton (also a rebel against an absolute ruler) saw much to admire in the character of Satan as represented in Paradise Lost. So to draw on these representations would not necessarily imply a negative attitude towards Ulysses, and given Tennyson's clear identification with Ulysses in the poem, it would be surprising if his overall assessment was negative. This is not intended to be OR, just a response to what might be taken as a "subtext" in the presentation here. Orbitalforam (talk) 09:56, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

london olympics

right at the end some mention should be made of the use of the end of the poem on the poetry wall at "Ulysses Square" at the London Olympic Village, which is intended to be there forever more. The last line is in letters 2 feet high, and then, inside, the last few lines are to be given. Check this out with the Cultural Commissar of the Olympics. BTW the line was chosen as a result of a public vote so this is testimony to the enduring (affirmative) popularity of Ulysses. Alf Heben (talk) 19:13, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

New Hallam image

An image of A.H.H I recently found, in case it's ever needed: File:Arthur Henry Hallam bust.jpg. It's a bust by Francis Leggatt Chantrey. INeverCry 02:57, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

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Sources to see if anything useful?

Since the 2007 FAC, Matthew Rowlinson has written about the poem, discussion of the last line [2], [3]. EBSCO suggests a few more... Eddie891 ^Talk _Work 15:18, 5 October 2022 (UTC)