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Tennyson's Ulysses

One of my favorite poems. A little bit sad, a strong theme of impending mortality...but it's quite beautiful.

Comments

[needa.livejournal.com]

Crossing the Bar was always my favorite - both from Tennyson, and poem in general. I didn't know you liked him, too....

Similar theme, too, but not as sad. More acceptance than defiance, too.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

I have a copy of his complete works kicking around here somewhere....First heard part of this poem in the movie Dead Poets Society, but it took me forever to find which one it is because the part read in the movie wastaken from towards the end, plus they don't read one straight consecutive segment. And I didn't have internet access back in the day to just google it (Or, at that time, plug it into yahoo...that was way back when the yahoo page was grey!)

studied Tennyson a bit as in high school English class...Brit lit...though, the teacher never would consider the argument that Ulysses was about anyhting other than flat out death. Which is NOT the same thing as mortailty.

There definitely is a note of defiance to Ulysses...but its not kicking-screaming mutiny defiance. It's just...push on, keep on keeping on...he's sick of ruling over these people that know nothing of him, that simply...exist... I see this King going off on a last grand voyage, despite his age, despite that his health isn't what it once was, knowing that he may not come home from it alive...but he's going because he's not just going to roll over and die.