Dima Elena-Izabela

2nd Year English Major

1st Group
Rewriting mythology

Alfred Tennyson

„Ulysses” and „The Lady of Shalott”

The majority of authors have been particulary interested in classical ancient texts, many of
them attempting at rewriting mythology. In my essay I shall discuss about Alfred Tennyson, a
remarkable poet of the Victorian age and I am going to define and analize the ways in which
he revived Greek mythology in two of his well-known poems, by endowing the myths with
new meanings and overtones which carry the influence of the period in which he wrote. At the
end of the essay I shall express my personal point of view on the matter.

Tennyson’s early fascination with classical ancients is understandable since he became

familiarized with Greek and Latin texts from a very young age and they were to become the
primary source of inspiration in his literary work. This fascination was actually shared by the
Victorian society: people were avid readers of classical texts, which meant that they could
easily understand Tennyson’s references. High education at that time still implied studying
Latin and Greek texts and Antiquity was seen as an example for modern life.

The influence of the Victorian period can be seen in the poems „Ulysses”(1842) and „The
lady of Shalott”(1842) through the poet’s constant use of rich descriptive imagery and a
tendency towards order and moralizing.

According to Stanford, it can be considered that of all the heroes of Greek and Roman
mythology, Ulysses was by far the most complex in character and exploits, both more varied
and more ambiguous than many others.(6) Adaptability and versatility are the features that
allow the constant revival and re-interpretation of Ulysses’ myth. One of the most important
qualities of Ulysses, namely intelligence, appears as „ethically ambiguous: selfish cunning or
altruistic wisdom”(Stanford, 7). While Homer explores Odyssey’s intelligence under the form
of altruistic wisdom, Dante’s Ulysses resembles Virgil’s; he is depicted in hell, condemned
for using deceitful methods when confronting his enemies and for his aspiration at a greater
knowledge (he is guilty of hubris).

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 Dima Elena-Izabela
2nd Year English Major
1st Group
By„recasting classical material and verse”, Tennyson attempted at creating „a literature
comparable to the great works of antiquity”(Markley, 4). He chose to present Ulysses neither
in a repetitive way, nor in an extremely innovative manner, but by remodelling the model so
that it could „take on new meanings and implications when reinterpreted” for the Victorian
age.(Markley, 3)

Tennyson chooses to write about an original moment in the story of the character; the
poem is centered around Ulysses’ decision to embark on his final journey before he dies,
journey predicted by Tiresias in the 11th book of the Odyssey. In his kingdom, in Ithaca, this
much older Ulysses seems to have never lost the thirst for adventure and exploration quests:„I
cannot rest from travel: I will drink/Life to the lees”(6-7). He is the wanderer: „I am a part of
all that I have met”(18), who cannot limit to his household and accept a peaceful and quiet
life. He seeks the new and the unknown (he shall die the way he lived). He is willing to
embark on a last voyage (death) with his mariners because they were his companions on the
sea: „Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me-you and I are old”.(47-50)

Tennyson portrays an Ulysses characterized and dominated by an immeasurable desire for

knowledge (and in this matter it resembles Dante’s Ulysses):„To follow knowledge like a
sinking star,/Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.” (31-32) The poem can be seen as
the image of the Victorian age and of the interest in scientifical and technological
development and Ulysses can be considered to be the portrait of the Victorian man.

In „The Lady of Shalott”, Tennyson is again rewriting Greek mythology by referring to

Penelope, Ulysses’ wife, who according to the webpage „Explanation: The Lady of
Shalott”(lines 37-45) avoided men who wanted to court her while her husband was away by
constantly weaving. The poem takes on new implications; it can be seen as the image of
Victorian society and the woman’s place in it; she lives in isolation, trapped in her household,
not allowed to see the world as it is but only mere shadows „I am half sick of shadows”.(71)
She is the angel of the house: ”Like an angel, singing clearly”(22)

Furthermore, the setting is that of an Arthurian legend, reminding of Elaine of Astalot and
her love for Sir Lancelot. According to Frauenhofer in „Men vs Women: Illustrating „The
Lady of Shalott” Tennyson might have intended to develop here the idea of the unrequited
love, of the woman that sacrifices herself for a doomed love.

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 Dima Elena-Izabela
2nd Year English Major
1st Group
From a more romantic point of view, the Lady of Shalott can be „the artist and her fate
could represent the destruction of the artist by the necessity of interacting directly with the
world” (Nelson, 5). Her isolation is here seen as the proper condition of the artist.

In conclusion, the two poems are similar in the way that their source of inspiration lies in
the Greek mythology, but the characters are opposite: Ulysses is the wanderer that roams the
world and interacts with reality. Lady of Shalott lives in isolation and has no name; therefore,
no connection to the real world.

In my opinion, Tennyson knew how to exploit his fascination for mythology in an original
manner. His Ulysses is deeply influenced by the voices of those written by others, but it
became somehow newly inspiring and modern through the final line „To strive, to seek, to
find, and not to yield”(70) and „The Lady of Shalott” seems to get to new meanings when
interpreted to the Victorian period.

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 Dima Elena-Izabela
2nd Year English Major
1st Group
Bibliography:

„Explanation: „The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. EXPLORING Poetry. Gale
Research, 1998 https://mseffie.com/assignments/shalott/shalottexplantion.html 29. October
2018

Frauenhofer, Erin. „Men vs Women: Illustrating „The Lady of Shalott”. Victorian Web.
<https://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/frauenhofer.html> . Web. 28.October 2018

Markley, A.A., Stateliest Measures: Tennyson and the Literature of Greece and Rome,
„Introduction: The English Virgil”, University of Toronto Press, 2004

Nelson, Elizabeth, „Tennyson and the Ladies of Shalott”. Ladies of Shalott: A Victorian
Masterpiece and its contexts, Brown University Department of Art, 1985

Stanford, W.B., The Ulysses Theme: A Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero,
„Chapter 1: The adaptability of mythical figures”, University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor,
1968

Tennyson, Alfred. Ulysses. 1842

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses.html . Web. 28.October 2018

Tennyson, Alfed. The Lady of Shalott. 1842

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45360/the-lady-of-shalott-1842.html . Web.
28.October 2018

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