Alfred Lord Tennyson: “Ulysses” Unit 12

UNIT 12: ALFRED LORD TENNYSON: “ULYSSES”

UNIT STRUCTURE:
12.1 Learning Objectives
12.2 Introduction
12.3 Tennyson: The Poet
12.3.1 His Life
12.3.2 His Poetic Works
12.4 Reading the Poem
12.4.1 The Text of the Poem
12.4.2 Major Themes
12.4.3 Tennyson’s Poetic Style
12.5 Critical Reception of Tennyson as a Victorian Poet
12.6 Let Us Sum up
12.7 Further Reading
12.8 Answer to Check Your Progress (Hints Only)
12.9 Possible Questions

12.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After going through the unit, you will be able to
• describe the life and career of Alfred Tennyson
• discuss the poem “Ulysses” in terms of its different important
aspects
• explain the underlying mythical pattern of the poem
• critically appreciate the significance of the poem “Ulysses” by
Tennyson

12.2 INTRODUCTION
This unit deals with the poem “Ulysses” written by the Victorian poet
Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) who is generally hailed as the most
representative poet of the Victorian period. Tennyson, as you will get to
read, perfectly voiced relentless spirit of the age for gaining more and more
knowledge of the unknown frontiers of the physical world of the time. While
the other leading luminaries of Victorian poetry—Robert Browning (1812-
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1887) and Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) remained preoccupied with their

professed line of interests–Browning with dramatic monologue, and Arnold
with moral deprivations often snubbed as ‘philistinism’, Tennyson focused
on the different polarities of his time. Robert Browning has been much
acclaimed for his innovative dramatic monologues like “My Last Duchess”
and “The Last Ride Together” in which he tried to probe the inner minds of
his characters, while at the same time advocating on their behalf. Matthew
Arnold, who defined poetry as “criticism of life”, embodied the role of a
moral critic of the time. As exemplified in his poems like “The Scholar Gipsy”
and “Dover Beach”, Arnold felt disgust at the Victorian way of life particularly
the corrupt and selfish pursuits of the age, and yearned for a peaceful,
optimistic and spiritually tranquil society free from the ‘philistines’. In contrast
to these two great poets, Tennyson displayed a sweeping range of interests
right from the imbroglio involving the publication of Charles Darwin’s The
Origin of Human Species (1859) resulting in the famous Victorian
Compromise, the scientific innovations and inventions of the time, to the
expansion of the British empire within the ambit of his poetic designs. By the
time you finish reading this unit, you will be able to learn why he is often considered
one of the most accomplished lyric poets in the history of English verse.

12.3 TENNYSON: THE POET

Alfred Tennyson remains the most representative poet of the Victorian

era. Being the mouthpiece of the age, he expressed
both the hopes and the doubts of his time. Like the
great Romantics of the late 18th and early 19th
centuries, Tennyson too was a keen observer of
nature. However, his specialty in this respect
remains the fact that he was not biased in favour of
only one particular dimension of nature; rather, he
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threw light on both the benevolent and malevolent
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aspects of it. Tennyson, to some extent, can be Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson

termed as a true descendent of Romantics like

Shelly and Keats so far as the emotional thread of their poetic pieces is

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concerned. His bosom friend and one of his earliest critics Arthur Henry
Hallam first pointed out this aspect of Tennyson’s poetry.

12.3.1 His Life

Alfred Tennyson, born on August 6, 1809 at Somersby

Rectory in Lincolnshire, was the son of the rector of Somersby,
Reverend George Clayton Tennyson. Tennyson had eleven siblings
and his father was an alcoholic— factor that took a toll on their middle
class existence in Tennyson’s childhood. After his early education,
mainly at home and at Louth Grammar School for a brief period,
Tennyson went to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1827. He displayed
his poetic competence at Trinity in 1829 by winning the Chancellor’s
Medal for his poem “Timbuctoo”. In fact, admission into Trinity was
sort of an escape for him from disturbed domestic environment
marked by his father’s bitter temperament resulting from his
disinheritance. However, the chaotic atmosphere at home during
his formative years had already left its mixed impetus on Tennyson’s
personality. The outcome of it was a dual personality displayed by
the poet throughout his life—a personality prone to compromise that
wavered between faith and doubt. However, his later life, particularly
post the publication in 1842 of his Poems, a two-volume collection
of poetry, was blissful.
In November 1850, Tennyson was appointed the Poet
Laureate of England consequent to the death of William Wordsworth
in April the same year and the refusal of the offer by Wordsworth
and Coleridge’s friend Samuel Rogers (1763-1855) on the ground
of his senility. The year was also remarkable for the publication of
Tennyson’s In Memoriam, an elegy triggered by the unfortunate and
untimely death of Arthur Henry Hallam whom Tennyson had
befriended at Trinity in 1828, and the beginning of his conjugal life
with Emily Sellwood. The poet’s personal fortunes saw a steep rise
after 1850 and he was honoured with the title of Baron in 1884,
which he had declined earlier on three occasions in 1865, 1874 and
1880. Tennyson suffered from serious illness in 1888 that posed a

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threat to his life, which according to his doctor’s version was as

near death as a man could get.
He died at “Aldworth”, his second country home, on 6th
October 1892.

12.3.2 His Poetic Works [adapted from Gale Encyclopaedia]

In 1827, when Tennyson was almost eighteen years old, his

first volume of poetry, Poems by Two Brothers was published.
Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, published in 1830, was well received and
marked the beginning of Tennyson’s literary career. Another collection,
Poems appeared in 1832. Many critics praised Tennyson’s artistry
but objected to what they considered an absence of intellectual
substance. The latter volume was published following a request of
Arthur Hallam, a brilliant Cambridge undergraduate who had become
Tennyson’s closest friend and who was an ardent admirer of his
poetry. However, Hallam’s premature death in 1833, which prompted
the series of elegies later comprising “In Memoriam”, contributed
greatly to Tennyson’s despair. For nearly a decade after Hallam’s
death, Tennyson published no further poetry.
As Tennyson was maturing, the political situation in England
was also changing as Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837,
beginning a long reign (which ended in 1901) and setting the tone
for an important era in British history. During the Victorian age, the
Industrial Revolution reached its peak, providing a boost to British
colonial and military expansion during the 19th century. On the one
hand, there was a vast increase in the factory system,
industrialization, and urbanization, changing the fabric of British
society. On the other hand, reform and social justice were also
emphasised. In such an environment, yielding to a friend’s insistence,
Tennyson published his two-volume collection Poems in 1842.
Following an unsuccessful financial venture for some time,
in 1845, Tennyson was granted a Government pension in recognition
of both his poetic achievements and his apparent need. Contributing
to his financial stability, the first edition of his narrative poem “The

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Princess: A Medley”, published in 1847, sold out within two months.

Moreover, the timely success of “In Memoriam”, published in 1850,
ensured Tennyson’s appointment as poet laureate, succeeding
William Wordsworth. This assured Tennyson the opportunity to
become the poetic voice of his generation, and in his ceremonial
position he composed such poems as “Ode on the Death of the
Duke of Wellington” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, each of
which is a celebration of heroism and public duty. Idylls of the King
(1859), considered by Tennyson’s contemporaries to be his
masterpiece, and Enoch Arden (1864), which sold more than forty
thousand copies upon publication, increased both his popularity and
his wealth and earned him the designation “the people’s poet.”
Although the dramatic works written later in his career like
Queen Mary (1875) and The Foresters (1892) were largely
unsuccessful, Tennyson completed several additional collections
of poems in the last decade of his life, all of which were well received.
They included: Ballads and Other Poems (1880), Tiresias, and Other
Poems (1885), and Demeter, and Other Poems (1889). In 1883, he
accepted a peerage, the first poet to be so honoured strictly based
on literary achievement.

LET US KNOW
A quick look at the list of Tennyson’s works

• Poems by Two Brothers (1827): It also contained poems

written by his brothers Frederick and Charles.
• Poems, Chiefly Lyrical (1830)
• Poems (1832)
• Poems (1842), in two volumes. One of these volumes
contained previously published poems in revised form and
the other one presented fresh poems.
• The Princess (1847)
• In Memoriam (1850)
• Maud and Other Poems (1855)
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• Idylls of the King (1859)

• Enoch Arden (1864). The publication of this volume brought
to him the title “Poet of the People”.
• The Holy Grail and Other Poems (1869)
• Ballads, and Other Poems (1880)

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

Q 1: What was Arthur Henry Hallam’s
role in Tennyson’s early career
besides being a friend?
Q 2: Which aspects of the Victorian society did Tennyson
express in his poetry?
Q 3: What were the factors that affected Tennyson’s early life
at home?

12.4 READING THE POEM

“Ulysses” was published in Poems, the two-volume collection of

poetry in 1842 that marked the beginning of Tennyson’s rapid stride towards
great success and fame. “Ulysses”, in the words of Andrew Sanders,
“emphatically embraces the idea of progressive development” (426) which
was one of the important agenda of Victorian policymaking. Written after
Arthur Hallam’s death in 1833, the poem was of much significance. Speaking
of it, Tennyson himself had said: “There is more about myself in ‘Ulysses’,
which was written under the sense of loss…” and that the poem provided
him with the “feeling about the need of going forward, and braving the struggle
of life…” (as qtd. in Hill, 82).
The poem is based on two mythical sources—Homer’s the Odyssey
XI and Dante’s Inferno (Canto 26). However, Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is not a
mere reproduction from his mythical sources but a re-appropriation of these
to give vent to a typical Victorian attitude to life and work.

12.4.1 The Text of the Poem

It little profits that an idle king, Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole

By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Unequal laws unto a savage race,

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That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere

I cannot rest from travel; I will drink Of common duties, decent not to fail
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy’d In offices of tenderness, and pay
Greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those Meet adoration to my household gods,
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
Thro’ scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me,—
Much have I seen and known, % cities of men

And manners, climates, councils, governments, That ever with a frolic welcome took

Myself not least, but honour’d of them all,% The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed

And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Free hearts, free foreheads,— you and I are old;

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. Old age hath yet his honour and his toil.

I am a part of all that I have met; Death closes all; but something ere the end,

Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’ Some work of noble note, may yet be done,

Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods

For ever and for ever when I move. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;

How dull it is to pause, to make an end, The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep

To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use. Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.

As tho’ to breathe were life! Life piled on life ’T is not too late to seek a newer world.

Were all too little, and of one to me Push off, and sitting well in order smite

Little remains; but every hour is saved The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
From that eternal silence, something more, To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
A bringer of new things; and vile it were Of all the western stars, until I die.
For some three suns to store and hoard myself, It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
And this gray spirit yearning in desire It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
To follow knowledge like a sinking star, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’

This is my son, mine own Telemachus, We are not now that strength which in old days

To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,— Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,—

Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil One equal temper of heroic hearts,

This labour, by slow prudence to make mild Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

A rugged people, and thro’ soft degrees To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Subdue them to the useful and the good. (Source: Tennyson’s Poetry, edited by Robert W. Hill Jr.)

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Ulysses, the speaker of the poem, dismisses the idea of

leading a peaceful and idle life accompanied by his wife in his hilly
kingdom of Ithaca. He is also not interested in ruling his subjects—
a “savage race” in his view—who are ignorant of their king. He has
been through many difficulties in life and have tremendously enjoyed
and equally suffered while earning a reputation in the process. He
has seen many a people in different countries and came to know
their customs and manners. He acknowledges that wherever he
has travelled to quench his thirst for knowledge, the people have
honoured him. He has fought with valour along with his fellow warriors
in the battle of Troy. He possesses much knowledge but the scope
of knowledge knows no bound. One’s experiences and knowledge
appear just like an arch through which one can see the vast expanse
of knowledge that remains unexplored.
Ulysses deems it foolish not to recognise the call of an active
life preferring to lead a dull life of rest and comfort that resembles to
him something made of iron that has lost the shine and rusted due
to little use. According to him, lives piled on lives are inadequate to
master knowledge of all the things available in the world. Since he
has only one life at his disposal of which too only a few years are
left, he cannot shy away from constant activity. He believes that an
hour spent in meaningful and worthy pursuits of knowledge of new
things equals to saving that time from death, which brings eternal
silence to everyone. It will be mean on his part to waste another
three years doing nothing and so he renews in old days his resolution
to dedicate the rest of his life in the noble pursuit of knowledge.
Ulysses projects his son Telemachus as the future ruler. He
possesses all the requisite qualities to govern the country during
the absence of Ulysses. Telemachus is free from corruption and
dutiful. He is expected to subdue the resilient people of his kingdom
into efficient and law abiding citizens while at the same time he
would offer prayers to the household gods when Ulysses is out on
his mission.
In the last part of the poem, Ulysses addresses his mariners.
He is well aware of his old age as well as that of the fellow-sailors.
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However, it is his conviction that even old age has its honour to be
won and work to be performed. Though death is inevitable, before it
knocks them down, they can do some noble works that befit them
who had fought with Gods in the Trojan War. As the daylight wanes
and the moonrises, the roar of sea waves is heard. At such a juncture,
Ulysses addresses his mariners to embark upon new voyages
stressing that they are not too late to explore new things and newer
opportunities. Ulysses is resolute to travel beyond the point in the
horizon where the sun and all the western stars set. He wants to
travel like that until his death. It may be that during the course of
their journey they will get drowned in the sea or that they will be able
to reach Elysium and meet the great hero Achilles whom they had
known in Troy. Though they are now bereft of their youthful energy
due to age, there remains with them the indomitable courage and
the strong will “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”.
Ulysses postulates about the untraveled world, which holds
a great store of knowledge unexplored. He is tempted to set out
again and master this hidden knowledge. His urge to go for it is
propelled by his realisation that he has already become old and he
will not live long. He decides to put his son Telemachus at the helm
of power to carry forward his legacy of kingship while he will be
away. In the final section of the poem, he addresses his fellow
mariners and gives them a wake-up call. He impresses upon them
the fact that they have become senile but still possess the
unconquerable will to achieve something great before they are
silenced by death. He reiterates to them his resolution to sail beyond
the utmost frontiers to attain his goal and ready to face his end if
necessary.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Q 4: Why is Ulysses not interested in
ruling his subjects?
Q 5: How does Ulysses project his son
Telemachus?

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12.4.2 Major Themes

The Ulysses Myth:

“Ulysses” is a reworking of the traditional myth in the backdrop

of Tennyson’s sense of personal loss. The myth is Homeric, but
Homer’s Ulysses (called Odysseus) is a whimsical military general
of the battle of Troy. He is also the adventurer who takes, after the
ten-year war of Troy is over, another ten years to reach back his
home. Towards the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus reaches his
land Ithaca, killed many suitors of his wife Penelope and sits at the
helm of power in his country. The only hint of a last adventure, which
is the theme of the Tennyson’s “Ulysses”, can be traced in Book IX
of Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus goes to the underworld, meets
Tiresias, the blind prophet, who reveals to him that he would reach
Ithaca and that his end will come from the sea. Dante, in Canto 26
of his Inferno, picks up this last sea voyage as his subject and not
only extends the Homeric myth but also brings the story of Ulysses
to an end. In the process, the character of Ulysses undergoes certain
changes—from a clever general and avenger he has become a
symbol of intelligence, hungry for more and more knowledge.
Therefore, it is more on Dante’s work than on the Homeric myth
that Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” is based on. No doubt, the character
of Ulysses is Homeric but the theme of the poem is modelled after
Dante’s extension of Homeric myth.

Social Consciousness:

Contemporary social consciousness is a major theme of

“Ulysses”. It has been represented through the character of Ulysses.
Tennyson’s hero is different from the Ulysses of any myth or legend.
He is a purely intellectual character imbibed with the 19th century
scientific zeal. He yearns for more and more knowledge and is ready
even to meet his death to fulfil his avowed objective. He can hardly
rest from travel and proposes to “drink/ Life to the lees”. He has
travelled to different lands with a hungry heart and acquired
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knowledge of the places he has been to. Still, his thirst for knowledge
remains insatiable and he wants to explore more and more in the
unknown zones of knowledge. The imagination of the people of
England during the reign of Queen Victoria was fired by the new
discoveries and inventions of science. In these developments, they
got the much-needed boost to discover new lands and thereby add
to the expansion of the British Empire, which was perhaps sailing at
its best pace at that point of time. Tennyson’s Ulysses embodies in
himself this quest of Victorians for knowledge.

Ulysses as an Egoist:

Another theme of the poem is the presence of an egoist in

Ulysses. An accommodative outlook does not match his noble
intentions and never-ending hunger for knowledge so far household
relation is concerned. He is disrespectful of his wife and his
subordinate citizens. The very first lines of the poem present him
as an egoist who feels it unprofitable to remain “an idle king” who
wastes his time by the side of the “still hearth” accompanied with
“an aged wife”. He even calls his people “a savage race” who only
“hoard, and sleep”. Such views and words to describe his wife and
citizens sufficiently hint that he is biased against them and holds
them in little respect. Ulysses even does not appreciate much his
own son
Telemachus beyond his traditional and homely
responsibilities.

Conflict between Science and Tradition:

The conflict or compromise between science and tradition

remains a remarkable theme of the poem “Ulysses”. The Victorian
era was an age of the problem of choice between the traditional
Christian way of life and the scientific discourse that was bolstered
by new discoveries and inventions. Industrialisation and the
advancement of science necessitated ever-going activity whereas
the foundation of life of a large number of people in the society
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remained their religious faith. Tennyson, being one of the greatest

poets of the age attempted to strike a balance between these two
opposite poles of his time. “Ulysses” reveals this effort of the poet
through the characters of Ulysses and his son Telemachus. The
poem remains a celebration of the energy and resolution of the period
to run after the ever-increasing horizon of the world of knowledge. In
a sense, Ulysses is the cross-continental hero of the Victorian
England, an adventurer, an explorer of the unknown realms of
knowledge and culture. Contrary to his father, Telemachus’ life is a
life of contentment and he is expected to play to perfection the
conventional duties Ulysses is about to assign to him. Unlike his
father, he does not feel the stir to go exploring new places and would
prefer to “subdue” his subjects and worship the “household gods”.
However, in the fields of their individual preferences, both Ulysses
and Telemachus are in mutual collaboration. They are helping one
another in their respective spheres of activities, which is in a way
indicative of the post-1859 Victorian Compromise between the
subscribers of the conflicting ideologies of the time. Without Ulysses
willing to bequeath his kingdom to his son Telemachus to rule when
he is gone or Telemachus’ supposed acceptance to perform the
responsibilities of the king assigned to him by his father, they would
not have been able to do what Ulysses puts as “He works his work,
I mine”. Thus, the compromising or collaborating relationship between
the scientific and the traditional domains of activity can be termed
as another theme of the poem.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

Q 6: What are the mythical bases of
Tennyson’s “Ulysses”?
Q 7: How has Ulysses become a
name?
Q 8: Why does Ulysses want to undertake a new voyage?
Q 9: How does the poem Ulysses display the Victorian
conflict between science and tradition?

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12.4.3 Tennyson’s Poetic Style

“Ulysses”, according to David Daiches, is “one of Tennyson’s

most controlled and perfectly wrought dramatic monologues …”
(998). This opinion by Daiches is quite apt considering the fact that
the poet presents Ulysses at a very crucial moment of his life. He
has come back after a long period of absence spent in pursuit of
hazardous adventures on sea and plays with the opposite ideas of
whether to idle away the rest of his life at home or embark upon yet
another journey. In deciding what he intends to do, his inner mind is
revealed to the readers.
Tennyson beautifully delineates through the inner play of
conflicting emotions the entire personality of his hero. To heighten
the effect of the dramatic monologue the poet gives the poem an
abrupt beginning that captures our attention—”It little profits that an
idle king, / By this still hearth …” After such a dramatic abruptness,
the poet takes his protagonist to the middle of the crisis where he
has to decide again about his future course of action. The epic
background is one of the subtle techniques of the poem that has
sustained the readers’ admiration for it even today. Using mythical
allusions to the character of Ulysses, Tennyson contextualises the
ceaseless zeal and hunger of his contemporary Victorians for more
and more knowledge of the unknown that would in turn add to the
glory of their nation. It is Tennyson’s sheer craftsmanship that blends
so well the legendary elements from Homer and Dante with the
Victorian thirst for ever-expanding knowledge.
Another technical aspect of the poem is the autobiographical
element in it. “Ulysses” is actually an outlet of the poet’s feelings
regarding the need to face life and continue one’s march ahead,
undaunted by personal tragedies besetting life, towards fulfilment of
men’s set objectives. Tennyson himself has acknowledged this
autobiographical aspect of the poem while speaking of In Memoriam
to James Knowles, the architect of Tennyson’s second country home
“Aldworth”, in this manner: “There is more about myself in ‘Ulysses’,
which was written under the sense of loss and that all had gone by,
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but that still life must be fought out to the end” (as qtd. in Hill 82).
Ulysses, the persona of the poem, reflects the spirit and personality
of the poet himself. By infusing personal touches to the near objective
speaker of the poem, Tennyson perhaps wanted to instil in the minds
of his contemporaries the need for a sincere pursuance of the
national interests of his times.
The poem “Ulysses” is written in blank verse and there is a
pictorial quality in its language. In the poem, Tennyson uses the
words in a very evocative way. As evident in “By this still hearth,
among these barren crags”, or “There lies the port; the vessel puffs
her sail; / There gloom the dark, broad seas”, or even the lines “The
lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; / The long day wanes; the
slow moon climbs; the deep/ Moans round with many voices”, the
poem is a good example of how language can conjure up images
that are like the real ones witnessed by the eyes. Such pictorial use
of language appears intentional on the part of Tennyson with a view
to appealing more and more to his contemporary citizens of England.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

Q 10: Comment on Tennyson’s poetic
style as reflected in the poem
“Ulysses”?

12.5 CRITICAL RECEPTION OF TENNYSON AS A

VICTORIAN POET
While discussing the critical reception of Tennyson as a Victorian
poet, one should be reminded of W.J. Long’s comment on Tennyson as:
“For nearly half a century Tennyson was not only a man and a poet; he was
a voice, the voice of a whole people, expressing in exquisite melody their
doubts and their faith, their grief and triumphs. In the wonderful variety of
his verse he suggests all the qualities of England’s greatest poets” (586).
This comment is quite befitting to the merits that Tennyson had as a poet.
There is hardly any doubt that Tennyson has been the best among
the Victorian poets in terms of addressing the different moods and issues
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of his time. However, his reputation has not always enjoyed an easy ride.
His critics dismissed his early poems. However, from the 1840s, he gradually
established himself as a major voice of the Victorian poetry and after the
publication of In Memoriam, his reputation became firmly cemented. The
Poet Laureateship conferred upon him testifies to his status as a poet during
his lifetime. However, in the early years of the 20th century, he received a
mixed reception at the hands of the modernists. In their rejection of the
entire Victorian ideology, the early modernists dismissed Tennyson too in
that; he had betrayed a typical Victorian attitude through most of his poetic
career. The damage to his reputation in the early 20th century was caused
particularly by the didactic tone of his later poems for which he came to be
looked at as a moral teacher besides being a great poet by his
contemporaries.
It is not always so bleak for Tennyson so far the reaction of the 20th
century critics is concerned. Some critics have praised him highly taking
cognizance of his contribution towards art and craft he had practised with
so much of mastery particularly from the 1830s. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick,
by situating Tennyson in the context of his time and subject matters, lauds
him that “it was the peculiar genius of Tennyson to light on the tired, moderate,
unconscious ideologies of his time and class” (613). Appreciating his lyric
as “gorgeous”, Sedgwick further opines that Tennyson had applied his lyric
genius “with a regal impartiality that makes him seem like a Christmas
present to the 20th century student of ideology” (613). Such accolades from
Sedgwick highlight the importance of Tennyson for both the Victorian period
and the 20th century.
Tennyson has been able to find appreciation even in the hands of
T.S. Eliot. Being one of the greatest of the high modernist writers and a
significant critic, Eliot’s appreciation speaks volumes about Tennyson’s
position as a master poet of the Victorian era. Comparing between
Tennyson’s long poems and that of his contemporaries, Eliot writes,
“Tennyson’s long poems are not the long poems in quite the same sense
as those of his contemporaries” (623). Pointing to his Maud and In
Memoriam, Eliot also praises Tennyson’s lyrical capacity as “Maud and In
Memoriam are each a series of poems, given form by the greatest lyrical
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resourcefulness that a poet has ever shown” (623). Such appreciation by

modern critics proves Tennyson’s importance as a Victorian poet who still
continues to delight his readers. Though at times scoffed at for expressing
the Victorian morality, one cannot deny Tennyson the status of a great poet
of his times, which is again seconded by Eliot in the following way:
Tennyson is a great poet, for reasons that are perfectly clear. He has
three qualities, which are seldom found together except in the greatest poets:
abundance, variety, and complete competence. We therefore cannot
appreciate his work unless we read a good deal of it. We may not admire
his aims: but whatever he sets out to do, he succeeds in doing, with a
mastery, which gives us the sense of confidence that is one of the major
pleasures of poetry. His variety of metrical accomplishment is astonishing.
(621)

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

Q 11: How was Tennyson received as a poet
in the 19th century?
Q 12: What type of critical reception did
Tennyson enjoy in the 20th century?

12.6 LET US SUM UP

Alfred Tennyson is one of the greatest poets of the Victorian period.

Coming from a family of humble origins Tennyson had to face domestic
troubles in his childhood. However, he comes over those early unpleasant
patches of life after taking admission in Trinity College, and thereafter, he
made his mark as a poet. He was way ahead of his contemporary poets
like Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold in theme, technique and vision.
Tennyson’s “Ulysses” remains a representative poem of the Victorian spirit
and social consciousness for a ceaseless campaign for more and more
knowledge and might. Taking his cues from Homer and Dante’s treatment
of the story of Ulysses, Tennyson re-appropriates it to suit the Victorian
socio-cultural ideal. Written on the wake of a great personal loss, which
Tennyson frankly confesses, the poem also offers him a way to express

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his resolution to carry forward his journey as a poet. The poem “Ulysses”
begins with a dramatic abruptness that captures the readers’ attention.
Ulysses has returned home after a prolonged, tumultuous military
engagement and equally eventful voyage. He expresses his unhappiness
at the prospect of leading an idle life ruling over his people, which does not
charm him at all. He recounts the wide range of experiences gathered during
his adventurous journey and tells about his earning a name for himself.
You have read that critics have not always been unanimous in their
support for Tennyson. In his initial career, he had to face adverse criticism.
However, after the 1840s and 1850s, he was able to silence his critics
through the merits of his poetic pieces. In the early years of the 20th century,
he was criticised again for being a votary of Victorian orthodoxy. However,
his reputation was redeemed after some of the greatest critics like Eliot
offered a fair assessment of his poetic oeuvre.

12.7 FURTHER READING

Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature. 4 vols. New Delhi:

Allied, 1998.
Eliot, T.S. “In Memoriam.” “Tennyson’s Princess: One Bride for Seven
Brothers.” Tennyson’s Poetry. Ed. Robert W. Hill Jr. New York: Norton,
2010. 621-27. Print.
Entry on Tennyson in Gale Contextual Encyclopaedia of World Literature.
Vol 3.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Back Bay, 2013. Print.
Hill Jr., Robert W. Ed. Tennyson’s Poetry. New York: Norton, 2010. Print.
Ricks, Christopher. (ed). (1987). The Poems of Tennyson. 3 Vols. Berkley:
U of California.
Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. New York:
OUP, 2000. Print.
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. “Tennyson’s Princess: One Bride for Seven
Brothers.” Tennyson’s Poetry. Ed. Robert W. Hill Jr. New York: Norton,
2010. 613-21. Print.
Turner, Paul. (1976). Tennyson. London: Routledge.
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12.8 ANSWER TO CHECK YOUR

PROGRESS (HINTS ONLY)
Ans to Q No 1: Arthur Henry Hallam was an early critic of Tennyson.
Ans to Q No 2: Tennyson expressed both hopes and doubts of the Victorian
age.
Ans to Q No 3: A large family of twelve children and an alcoholic father
were the factors that affected Tennyson’s early life.
Ans to Q No 4: He is not interested in ruling his subjects who in his view
are a “savage race” and who are ignorant of their king.
Ans to Q No 5: Ulysses projects his son Telemachus as the future ruler…
…he possesses all the requisite qualities to govern the country during
the absence of his father Ulysses… … Telemachus is free from
corruption and is dutiful… …he would subdue the resilient people of
his kingdom into efficient and law abiding citizens… …at the same
time, he would offer prayers to the household gods when Ulysses is
out on his mission.
Ans to Q No 6: Homer’s Odysseus and Dante’s Ulysses are the mythical
bases for Tennyson’s “Ulysses”.
Ans to Q No 7: Ulysses has travelled to many countries where he has met
many people and learnt their cultures and habits. As an outcome of
his encounter with these different people across countries, he has
been able to become a name among them.
Ans to Q No 8: Ulysses wants to undertake a new voyage in order to know
the previously unexplored world of knowledge.
Ans to Q No 9: The Victorian era was an age of the problem of choice
between the traditional Christian way of life and the scientific
discourse… …Industrialisation and the advancement of science
necessitated ever-going activity whereas the foundation of life of a
large number of people remained their religious faith…. …Tennyson,
attempted to strike a balance between these two opposite poles of
his time.
Ans to Q No 10: This poem is one of Tennyson’s most controlled and
perfectly wrought dramatic monologues… …with a dramatic
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abruptness, the poet takes his protagonist to the middle of the crisis
where he has to decide again about his future course of action…
…using mythical allusions to the character of Ulysses, Tennyson
contextualises the ceaseless zeal and hunger of his contemporary
Victorians for more and more knowledge… …”Ulysses” is actually
an outlet of the poet’s feelings regarding the need to face life and
continue one’s march ahead… …the poem is written in blank verse
and there is a pictorial quality in its language
Ans to Q No 11: His critics dismissed his early poems… …from the 1840s,
he gradually established himself as a major voice of the Victorian
poetry… …he also became the Poet Laureate which testifies to his
status as a poet during his lifetime… …W J Long comments: “For
nearly half a century Tennyson was not only a man and a poet; he
was a voice, the voice of a whole people, expressing in exquisite
melody their doubts and their faith, their grief and triumphs.
Ans to Q No 12: In the 20th century, critics have praised Tennyson highly
taking cognizance of his contribution towards art and craft he had
practised… …Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick lauded him that “it was the
peculiar genius of Tennyson to light on the tired, moderate,
unconscious ideologies of his time and class.”… …another poet T.S.
Eliot speaks volumes about Tennyson’s position as a master poet of
the Victorian era.

12.9 POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Q 1: Discuss “Ulysses’ as a typical Victorian poem with particular

emphasis on the dichotomy between science and tradition.
Q 2: Can you state that Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is an expression of his
personality or of an ideology? Give reasons in support of your
argument.
Q 3: It will not be an exaggeration to say that in “Ulysses” Tennyson
celebrates the energy and resolution of the Victorian age. Discuss.

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Unit 12 Alfred Lord Tennyson: “Ulysses”

Q 4: Critically appreciate “Ulysses” as a poem on the basis of its various

thematic elements.
Q 5: Discuss Tennyson’s “Ulysses” in the context of its underlying mythical
structure.
Q 6: Comment on Tennyson’s poetic style and technique as found in the
poem Ulysses.
Q 7: In what ways, does a poem like “Ulysses” reflect on the Victorian
compromise between scientiûc progress and religious faith? Discuss.

* * *

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