Greek Influence On Odysseus

Alfred Lord Tennyson was well known for his great literary works. His work, Ulysses is the story of Odysseus in the Odyssey. It focuses on his life after all his great accomplishments and when he has aged. The story of Odysseus is a long but incredibly great one. From his story, countless lessons can be learned through the experiences he went through. The influence of Greek Mythology on this work of literature is very strong. Three messages from Ulysses are: Don’t be idle in life, never give up, and your life changes. The first message from this incredibly praised poem, Ulysses, is don’t be idle. Ulysses says that those who sit on a couch for the rest of their lives aren’t living. Our lives are short, so we must fill them up with as much

In a summary written by WD Geddes for ATB Tennyson, he expands on this point: “Ulysses declares that there is little point in his staying home “by this still still hearth” with his old wife, doling out rewards and punishments for the unnamed masses

Ulysses’s life clearly changed from when he was young to when he very old. Different events happen and change us into different people, or events happen to us that completely turn our lives around. There are times when our lives are complete polar opposites in opposing times. On page 972, lines 56-57, Tennyson exploits: “Moans round with many voices, come, my friends, ‘tis not too late to seek a newer world” Odysseus/Ulysses makes it very clear his life has changed from how it used to be. “Ulysses envisages successful endeavor or death at sea, but prefers even the latter to inaction.” (Robbins, “Tennyson’s “Ulysses”: The Significance of the Homeric and Dantesque Backgrounds”) Even in the times of the Greek and all their adventures. Even though our times are different, that doesn’t mean that our lives will stay the same. It is good that our lives change, because that means that means we have made progress, whether it be good or bad. We don’t want to be living the same boring lives for their entirety. Because of our memories, we are able to remember how different our lives are. We can reflect on the times we were innocent and inexperienced. “Consciousness is an arena where past and present, memory and sensation interact.” (Findlay, “Sensation and Memory in Tennyson’s “Ulysses””) Tennyson wanted to boldly let his readers know that their lives will change from time to time through Ulysses’s example of his