English poet and dramatist, Alfred, Lord Tennyson generally was considered to be the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry. Tennyson's major works include his Poems. Chiefly Lyrical, his two volume work, again entitled Poems, which includes, alongside rewritten earlier works, the dramatic monologue Ulysses. He also wrote, in later years, a number of works centered on Arthurian legends, including The Idylls of the King (1859), The Holy Grail and Other Poems (1870) and Gareth and Lynette (1872). Ulysses is a poem about a mighty king who decides to pass his thrown to his son to pursue his dream of traveling the world. He feels it's a form of escape from the everyday responsibilities. .
Dramatic Monologue a poem in which a single speaker who is not the poet utters the entire poem at a critical moment. The speaker has a listener within the poem, but we too are his/her listener, and we learn about the speaker's character from what the speaker says. In fact, the speaker may reveal unintentionally certain aspects of his/her character (Microsoft Encarta). Ulysses (Odysseus) declares that there is little point in his staying home "by this still hearth" with his old wife, doling out rewards and punishments for the people who live in his kingdom (Arp /2). Ulysses is a mighty King, who finds him wanting more out of life. His kingdom is large and people respect him. .
Ulysses (Odysseus) declares that there is little point in his staying home "by this still hearth" with his old wife, doling out rewards and punishments for the people who live in his kingdom. Still speaking to himself he proclaims that he "cannot rest from travel" but feels compelled to live to the fullest and swallow every last drop of life. He has enjoyed all his experiences as a sailor who travels the seas, and he considers himself a symbol for everyone who wanders and roams the earth. His travels have exposed him to many different types of people and ways of living.