Is Tennyson’s Ulysses a heroic explorer or a selfish man abandoning his duty?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s 1842 poem Ulysses remains a literary battleground. While earlier generations celebrated the speaker’s relentless drive to pursue knowledge until the very end, modern critics often detect a darker, ironic tone, questioning whether the aging king is merely a restless soul selfishly deserting his family and kingdom.

Written in 1833 following the death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, Tennyson’s poem reflects his own struggle to move forward through profound grief. The narrative features the mythical hero Ulysses, who, having returned to Ithaca after the Trojan War, finds domestic life and governing his people burdensome. He expresses a deep, restless desire to embark on one final, mysterious voyage, leaving his son Telemachus to manage the kingdom. This tension between the active, questing spirit and the responsibilities of home forms the core of the work, which Tennyson described as his way of fighting through the pain of loss.

The poem’s interpretation has shifted significantly over time. Early readers and contemporaries, such as John Sterling, praised its epic tone and wisdom. However, twentieth-century scholars began to view the narrator as unreliable. Critics like Paull F. Baum argued that Ulysses displays flaws similar to Byronic heroes, suggesting his famous final vow to keep searching and never surrender is undercut by a reckless disregard for his subjects. Some even propose that because the original mariners from Homer’s Odyssey are dead, the entire monologue might be a recollection from Hell, echoing Dante’s depiction of Ulisse as a false counsellor.

Despite these debates, the poem’s influence remains immense. Its closing sentiment has become a cultural touchstone, inscribed on a cross in Antarctica to honor Robert Falcon Scott’s 1912 expedition and featured in modern media like the film Skyfall. Whether read as a sincere anthem of human persistence or a cautionary tale of hubris, the poem captures a universal human conflict: the desire to transcend one's circumstances versus the necessity of fulfilling common duties. Tennyson’s ability to weave these conflicting impulses into seventy lines of blank verse ensures its place as a cornerstone of Victorian literature.

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