User:Millionmiles101

Millionmiles101
Reading Journal for British Lit 2

The first four lines of “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson mark the poem as having a tone of uneasiness and anxiety. First, it couples modern language with classical literature which creates an unbalanced dichotomous relationship and contributes to the poem’s anxiety. Consider the first line’s statement, “little profits that an idle king.” The word “profit” automatically has an economic connotation, for profits are specifically related to capitalistic ventures. The next major signifier is “king” which draws a reader back to mythos, legend, and divine, historical narratives. The difference between both words is compelling, and creates, from the start, an uneasiness that spreads through the rest of the poem. The next couple of lines, “By this still hearth, among these barren crags/ Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole/ Unequal laws unto a savage race” (2-4), are very depressing and consistently apprehensive. “Still” and “barren,” for example, are words that worry modern capitalists. Lack of movement and no productivity are both stifling concepts; they leave no room for upward mobility, progress, or future hopes and dreams. To further the uneasy tone of the poem, the forced bond to an “aged wife” is particularly uneasy; historically (and today), women are seen as economic objects; the prettier and younger a woman is the more value she has, and whoever obtains her gets to use that value as a means to reflect and expand his own value. The fact that Ulysses is “matched with an aged wife” shows that his value has depreciated because his wife, a reflection of that same value, is neither young nor beautiful. Finally, “mete and dole” are both negative economic concepts; essentially, to mete and dole is to give something for free with no hope or expectation of receiving something in return. Economically, this idea makes no sense; to give something one must also obtain something in return – since Ulysses has now been reduced to handling administrative affairs with no hope of gaining something, we again are faced with a nervous king whose concern echoes throughout the rest of the play. The uneasiness of the poem reflects several modern problems Tennyson observed and dealt with during his time. For one, capitalism was in full swing and was systematically destroying the people who helped create and hold it up. In many ways, the economic language “Ulysses” uses reflects Tennyson’s time period and the problems associated with it. This awareness of the failing economic climate reminds me of North and South in that it addresses, metaphorically, the same problems. Specifically, Tennyson’s quote, “Unequal laws unto a savage race” reminds me of the mob scene in Gaskell’s novel; there we see the true power of laws that benefit the rich and subdue the poor; however, we also see that the poor, when angry enough (and understandably), become just as violent and savage as the people Ulysses was dealing with in his kingdom. In addition to economic hardship, Tennyson was also addressing the uncertain climate for poets. Because the novel was coming into its own and becoming a form of literature accepted and read by everyone, poetry had to redefine itself; in a way, Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is a metaphor for poetry’s lament. Just as Wordsworth was worried about making poetry into a “real language,” Tennyson is now coming up with a poetic form that incorporates modern problems and links them to the mythical past. Finally, the last couple lines of Ulysses regarding his ship and what he plans to do, really makes me wonder if Tennyson was nodding at the scientific revolution occurring at this time. Just as Ulysses acknowledges through infinitives that he will attempt to find and seek, but will probably never find anything, science also acknowledges that it does not have all the answers, but will continue to try and find them and never give up searching. Since poets at this time like Robert Browning were incorporating scientific themes into their poems, it makes sense that Tennyson would acknowledge this new trend and have Ulysses’ escape from the past echo scientific thought.