Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson - Essay Example

?Running Head: THE REPRESENTATIVE POEM The Representative Poem Paper The 19th century was characterized by a variety of unique cultural characteristics that had a significant influence on the literature written during this period. The poem “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, written in this century is representative of the characteristics of this period in history. Ulysses was the king of Ethaca, in Greece and this poem is an account of his statements as he is preparing to embark on one of his voyages. The poet conveys through the words of his protagonist that the great king has been involved in a number of great battles and has gathered a huge store of experience. He has travelled to far and wide lands, explored new places, fought hard battles with his enemies and has conquered new lands for his kingdom. Now, as he prepares to leave on another sea voyage he is heard reminiscing about all his earlier experiences. Lord Tennyson has combined the characteristics of old Classical Greek literature with the new philosophical ideals of the 19th century to create a timeless literary work. (Tennyson) A new kind of literature began to be produced during the 19th century which generated a feel of pleasant melancholiness. This was the idea of Romanticism which revolutionized the social and cultural lifestyles of that period. This new “romantic literature” was different from the existing school of classical literature. The romantic philosophy believed in the inherent goodness of man. It advocated that man would behave well as long as he stayed close to his natural surroundings but could not always do so as he was bound by the restrictions of civilization. Man’s natural emotions coupled with his inherent innocence stirs up the feelings of elation in his heart. The romantic poets always gave precedence to emotions over rationale or logic; their hearts ruled their minds. Accordingly, their literary works also reflected their ideals in life. William Wordsworth in his Lyrical Ballads (1800) declares that “all good poetry is a spontaneous overflow of feelings” which aptly underlines the Romantic poets’ affinity towards emotions (Waugh, 2006, p. 53). During the late 19th century, European art and literature was significantly influenced by another important cultural characteristic called “Aestheticism”. This philosophy advocated that the various artistic forms can be created only for glorifying beauty, it need not serve any other social, political or cultural purpose. In the 18th century Immanuel Kant laid the philosophical foundations of this ideal when he declared that aesthetic standards were a complete independent ideal by their own, separate from the ideals of virtuosity, utility and pleasure. Actually, the industrial revolution during the late 18th century had ushered in a period of mechanical life and monotonous living which in turn had given rise to some utilitarian social philosophies in that age. The Aesthetic movement had started as a reaction to these prevailing social features. In England, the ideals of aestheticism were espoused by the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas Carlyle, in Germany they were popularized by J.W. von Goethe, J.L Tieck and others while in France it was spread by Madame, de Stael, Theophile Gautier and Victor Cousin. In fact, it was philosopher Victor Cousin who invented the famous phrase “art for art’s sake” which explicitly expressed the philosophy of aestheticism (Beebe 1964). During the early 19th century, European political, social and cultural life was influenced by the ideals of radical liberalism. This was essentially a social theory, which also had a huge impact on the creative expressions of that period. This philosophy believed in six basic theoretical ideals which included “pluralism, developmental individualism, solidarity, egalitarianism, participatory democracy and social transformation.” (Lichtenstein, 1984, p.1). Actually radical liberalism is often considered to describe a specific form of liberal social theory. This philosophy also contains the features of classical (laissez-faire) liberalism, traits of the modern (etatist) liberal ideals and also certain characteristics of the revolutionary leftist ideology. All of the above liberalist ideals had their origins in a common philosophical base provided by the theory of Enlightenment Liberalism. Therefore, radical liberalism represented the union of two different philosophical thoughts: a liberal ideal which wanted to liberate people from the shackles of political and economic authority and another radical philosophy which wished to revolutionize the existing social order which thrived on materialism, privilege and property (Lichtenstein,1984, p.1). Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Ulysses is representative of all these ideals which took shape during the 19th century. Ulysses, the great king of Greece had built up a huge empire by conquering many nee lands, far and wide. Yet, he could not rest in peace. Ulysses himself admits in the poem that he is possessed by a strong urge of wanderlust which always inspires him to embark on new adventures. This is a typical romantic sentiment expressed through the words of the king. Just like the romantic philosophy, Ulysses frees himself from the responsibilities of ruling his kingdom and sets out on new journeys to satisfy his heart’s desires. He follows his heart and places its desires above his rational duties of a king, every time he embarks on a new voyage. This is exactly what Romantic poets advocated during that period: to lead life ruled by emotions instead of the logical thinking of the mind. Ulysses as a work of literature can be admired for the beauty of its creation alone. In this respect, the poem remains a true example of the aesthetic philosophy which had gained prominence during the 19th century. Tennyson’s writing is a classic form of art which has endured the test of the succeeding times and remained popular till this day. Through the words of Ulysses, the poet has painted a vivid picture of his past experiences and the contemporary situation in his kingdom Ethaca. Though the poem is written as a single narrative account of the protagonist, it has been successful in creating a beautiful imagery of his inherent feelings and his imaginations of the future days. It can safely be stated that Tennyson has created a very high quality of aesthetic literature. Finally, the poem is also a classic example of the ideal of radical liberalism which had influenced Europe during that period. Ulysses is portrayed a strong character who is not afraid to pursue his dreams by handling over the responsibilities of Ethaca to his son, Telemachus. This is a reflection of the developmental individualism which was one of the basic ideals of liberalism. Ulysses admits that the experiences that he has gathered over the years have helped him to grow and evolve as an individual. Radical liberalism represented the convergence of the liberal and the radical philosophies. True to the liberalist ideals, Ulysses frequently breaks free of his duties as a king and sets out on new voyages to explore new lands and gain new experiences. Ulysses’s attitude is very revolutionary and does not really seem to belong to a king of his stature. He relinquishes his responsibilities of kingship in order to satisfy his wanderlust. In this respect, this is a radical attitude which seems to change the very definition of a monarch. From the above discussion, it is evident that the poem Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson is a true representative of the important cultural forces of the 1th century. It is believed that for a piece of literature to be considered as timeless, it should reflect the features of the contemporary society as well as provide some indications of the times to come. Tennyson’s Ulysses has been able to accomplish both with success and has thus come to be regarded as an eternal piece of literary work. References 1. Beebe, M. (1964), Ivory towers and sacred founts, New York University Press 2.. Lichtenstein, P.M (1984), Some Theoretical Coordinates of Radical Liberalism, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 43 (3), pp.333-339 3. Tennyson, (n.d), Ulysses, retrieved on December 16, 2001 from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ulysses-2/ 4. Waugh, P. (2006), Literary theory and criticism, Oxford University Press, 2006 Read More