... Odysseus as the adventurous hero with the strength and determination to persevere in difficult times. Tennyson combines these two accounts by having Ulysses make his speech shortly after returning to the island of Ithaca, and shortly before boarding for his final voyage. Homer's Ulysses, as described in Scroll Xl of the Odyssey, learns from a prophecy that he will take a final sea voyage after killing the suitors of his wife Penelope. The details of ... this sea voyage are described by Dante in Canto XXVl of the Inferno: Ulysses finds he is restless in Ithaca and driven by "the longing ...

• Word Count: 1975
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... of the final journey. Tennyson's poem differs from Dante and Homer's works. Neither the "Odyssey- nor the "Inferno- described Penelope as being old, nor did they state that Ulysses had lived in Ithaca for a long time before he left for the final voyage. Tennyson referred to the "Odyssey- one more time in his poem, "The Lotos-Eaters."" He spoke of Odysseus' men when they left their ship in the beautiful land of the ... Lotos-Eaters. The men soon fell under the magic of the lotus fruit. Tennyson used the same perspective that was used in the "Odyssey."" That perspective was the predicamen...

• Word Count: 900
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School