Ulysses Poem Critical Analysis

Ephthimios Doliotis

March 17, 2013

English 262: Poetry Analysis Essay

` T.S. Eliot once called “Ulysses” a “perfect poem.” Of course, “Ulysses” may not be a perfect poem per se, but it certainly is a magnificent poem. Interestingly, “Ulysses” does not use very flowery text; however its subject themes and morals strike a chord with its readers. Also ironic is the fact that this poem is different poem compared to Lord Tennyson’s. Tennyson did not include this poem in his early publications.

“Ulysses” is simple, realist, and dramatic poem. It is a simple poem in that it is easy to read and understand the poem. The narrator’s thesis is not occulted to the reader. “Ulysses” is also a realist poem. In order to produce a great poem, a poem must have a mighty theme. “Ulysses” is an embodiment of this philosophy. There are several mighty themes in “Ulysses.”

One reason that “Ulysses” is a magnificent poem is that it conveys narrator’s thesis very vividly and eloquently. The themes and morals of “Ulysses” are easy to understand. What makes those themes and morals great is not only their simplicity, but also their relation to our lives as well. The theme of “Ulysses” focuses on the discontent of the narrator’s life at the time of the poem’s setting.

The first noticeable theme is the Ulysses’ existential analysis of his life, an analogous “mid-life crisis” of sorts. King Ulysses is disillusioned and discontented with the uneventful and seemingly thankless job of being a bureaucratic monarch. Recall that Ulysses was absent from leading his kingdom for between one to two decades due to the events of the Trojan War and the Odyssey. “Ulysses looks back at his famous accomplishments in life and longs to conduct at least one more famous endeavor” (Pearsall 186). This is a great and important existential theme. Surely some of us sometimes look back at our lives and wonder if we have done any great and lasting noteworthy accomplishments.

Mortality is another theme in...