Ulysses

Ulysses is Alfred Tennyson's dramatic monologue in which the returned Greek hero expresses dissatisfaction with settled life and imagines a final voyage. He contrasts his own restless desire for experience with the patient governing role he assigns to his son Telemachus. The speech gathers emotional force as it turns toward former companions and the possibility of action despite diminishing strength. Yet its stirring language does not resolve every question about duty at home or the risks of departure. That tension gives the poem a richer dramatic character than an uncomplicated statement of perseverance.