Concetti Chiave
- Tennyson's poetry attempts to reconcile Romanticism with Victorian values, blending individual freedom with social duty.
- His works are marked by a sense of melancholy due to the difficulty of achieving this reconciliation.
- In "Ulysses," Tennyson portrays the protagonist as yearning for new experiences, reflecting Victorian desires for discovery amidst societal changes.
- Heroism is a central theme in "Ulysses," aligning with Victorian moral values of honorable behavior.
- The poem also explores themes of death and existential doubt, mirroring Victorian anxieties spurred by emerging scientific theories.
Ulysses
Sources:
1. Odysseus of Homer: the voyage to coming back to Ithaca
2. 26th canto of Hell of Dante: he tells the story of his last voyage
Tennyson chose the situation in the middle: Ulysses is in Ithaca and planes his last voyage. Ulysses is old but he is bored by his life in Ithaca, he is in a state of torpor and he always thinks of the triumphs of the past and he wishes new experiences and knowledge. He also feels the burden of being a king and the responsibility towards his son Telemacus. He is old age and he is aware that death is coming near but he wants to do a last voyage in order to be again glorious and heroic.
Themes:
1. Heroism, because the voyage is finalized to the heroism; it is connected with the moral values of Victorian Age. Heroism in the sense of honourable way of behaving.
2. The anxiety of Ulysses reflected the unsatisfaction of the Victorians under the general optimism.
3. The desire of the “new” as the Victorians had the desire to discover new lands and the desire of renewal in a period of mechanisation and social problems.
4. The death, as the end of all doubts also the Victorian Age was an age of doubts about man and life originated by scientific theory like Darwinism (sense of melancholy and sadness)
Domande da interrogazione
- Quali influenze hanno caratterizzato la poesia di Alfred Tennyson?
- Qual è il tema centrale del poema "Ulysses" di Tennyson?
- Come si riflette l'ansia vittoriana nel poema "Ulysses"?
Alfred Tennyson è stato influenzato dai poeti romantici come Shelley e Keats. La sua poesia cerca di riconciliare il Romanticismo con i valori vittoriani, esplorando la libertà individuale e il dovere sociale, il che conferisce alle sue opere un senso di malinconia.
Il tema centrale di "Ulysses" è l'eroismo, inteso come un comportamento onorevole. Ulysses, annoiato dalla vita a Itaca, desidera nuove esperienze e conoscenze, riflettendo l'insoddisfazione dei vittoriani e il loro desiderio di scoperta e rinnovamento.
L'ansia di Ulysses nel poema riflette l'insoddisfazione dei vittoriani nonostante l'ottimismo generale. Il desiderio di nuove esperienze e la consapevolezza della morte imminente rappresentano i dubbi dell'epoca vittoriana, accentuati dalle teorie scientifiche come il darwinismo.
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