1

Antoine Syverain
English 1B
Prof. Cave
Poem essay: Ulysses
30 October 2014
Old In Age, Young In Spirit
The speaker of the poem is old in age and finds his current life situation boring.
Remaining in a castle all day, he feels that he is life has come to a halt. Being a king is
not as satisfying at all. In the first stanza, Ulysses gives his input about how life should be
lived, starting with the first line he states "It little profits that an idle king,. Although he
has the status of a king, he feels that there more to life than just sitting in a throne all day,
stuck in one place. In the second stanza, he gets even more specific and uses bolder
statements.
Ulysses describes himself as restless, like a bee that never stops working. In his old
days of travel and adventure, him and his peers have encountered both good and bad
times and regardless of the condition of whatever situation he faces, it does not bother
him. As long he and his posse are out there, on the sea or on shore exploring, he is a
happy man. No matter how he much experiences he, he remains unsatisfied and craves
more and more fun. The sum of his encounters with life makes him who he is to such an
extent that he is unable to change, unable to adapt to a kings life inside a castle. Ulysses
finds it impossible to do the same thing over and over and longs for something new.
In the third stanza, he makes the decision to leave behind his home and put his son
Telemachus in charge, while he prepares for a departure with his gang. In the last stanza,
his attitude shoots up exponentially when giving a speech to his mariners. In the last part
of the poem, the speakers level of enthusiasm increases and it is now that he starts
projecting his vision on what awaits them on their journey. The manner he addresses his
audience shows that he has sailed with them before. He declares that being old is not a
valuable excuse to remain passive and there is so much adventure out there for them to
discover. He would rather die exploring than die peacefully on a bed.