Ulyses Summary, from Lord tennyson

In the first stanza of the poem, Ulysses sadly reminisces of the older days, realizing that his present occupation has left him “to rust unburnish’d”. He has grown bored with his respected position, and he sees everything that should be beautiful in his life, his wife, his home, and his lifestyle, with a tired plainness. Ulysses feels he lives without truly living.

He finds no rest because he has not journeyed from anywhere to be rightfully weary, and the only things that give him any peace are the memories of his past. Ulysses remembers the joys of drunken battle with his friends on the plains of Troy. He remembers sailing the seas. He remembers all that he “enjoyed greatly,” and “suffered greatly.” He knows now in his old age

More of Ulysses character is revealed when he addresses his men. He convinces his crew that as long as they live, there is something great yet to be done. Ulysses looks out aboard his ship to his men, who went through great troubles and struggles with him in the past. As dusk turns to dawn, Ulysses’ inspirational words turn his crew’s apprehension of a dark sea, into awe of beautiful sunrise ocean. He pushes the emotions of his men on, reiterating that it is not too late to see the parts of the world that they have not seen.

The second stanza is Ulysses’ last testimony to his people and to his son, Telemachus. Before Ulysses goes on his journey, he leaves the responsibility of ruling the people to his son. He asks Telemachus to patiently push his people to progress into something greater and more useful than the “rugged” people that they are.

Ulysses is a man of action and will settle for nothing less out of life than everything that is has to offer, even if what he desires may lead to hardship or loss. To Ulysses and to Tennyson, life lived to the fullest has more hardships, but those hardships are far outweighed by the rewards such a life will bring.

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