Tennyson As A Philosopher Poet.

Tennyson is hailed by the critics as a philosopher poet.
Explain with reference to

“Ulysses”.
Tennyson was through and through a Victorian. As a representative of Victorian-era, he has

tried to create such mood and theme that have universal appeal, meaning, and acceptance
to the readers. In this regard, he has chosen such characters from a classical myth which
can express his deep idealism and philosophy.
Ulysses declares that he is strong in will to sail towards the west even beyond the western
horizon, ‘to strive to seek, to find and not to yield’. Thus the whole poem is a journey
towards a new adventure, knowledge, and regeneration of the inner spirit of humanity. The
poem, of course, provides various motivating messages and moral courage to the modern
readers. From religious and Philosophical point of view, it suggests the nature of
Restlessness of the human soul and its insatiable thirst to know the unknown.
The poem suggests that it is never too late to discover new things and new world. It teaches
that a person should never leave the hope of winning or standing again against the adverse
situations of life. If someone is strong in will, then from any situation or at any age he can
snatch his victory or stand again.
suggests his philosophical distance from his son Telemachus.
In Ulysses, the hero Ulysses represents the mood of restlessness, full of action and ever
striving personality.
The philosophy of Ulysses in the poem is Tennyson’s own philosophy. He followed the
vision or gleam throughout life and that took him onwards. Ulysses is the modern passion
for knowledge, for the exploration of its limitless field, for the annexation of the new
kingdoms of science and thought. The human spirit is dauntless. It can never grow weary in
its search for knowledge. There is in human spirit an insatiable curiosity, a strong urge to
know more and more of the mysteries of the universe. If we lead a life of mental activity we
are sure to prosper. A settled and lazy mind is bound to kill the soul. Ulysses is the
expression of those eternal and everlasting elements in man’s nature. Tennyson seeks to
present ‘a philosophy of life’ in the person of Ulysses as the very personification of strong
passion for knowledge. He hates to stay at hope but loves to be adventurous. Though he is
becoming old but he becomes young from his mental side. In spirit he is still young.
"Ulysses" has been called a "crisis lyric," which is a genre from the Romantic period that
presents a crisis and an attempt to resolve that crisis. Tennyson's challenge to us, to push
ahead with vigor and strength of will no matter how old or weak our bodies are. To yield to
age or weakness is to be less than fully human. As honorable as it may be to live a peaceful
life without risk, we miss the most exciting aspects of life if we do not venture out, at least a
little bit, into the unknown. T. S. Eliot famously described Tennyson as "the saddest of all
English poets", whose technical mastery of verse and language provided a "surface" to his
poetry's "depths, to the abyss of sorrow".
Tennyson had certain philosophical thoughts which he had expressed with

great force in Ulysses. He believed in action and Ulysses is a standing monument in
the glorification of action even in the face of death and decay. He laid emphasis on 'to
strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield'. He advocated pursuit of knowledge and
higher values of life:
To follow knowledge, like a sinking star
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is basically an expression of a philosophy, a "set of beliefs or

an outlook on life that is a guiding principle for behaviour." Ulysses expresses Ulysses's
outlook on life which is a guiding principle for his behaviour, and his beliefs. And Ulysses's
is Tennyson's considered philosophy of life. Ulysses is Tennyson's mouthpiece.
The outlook on life revealed in Ulysses is one of ceaseless activity and motion-"to
strive, to seek, to find and not to yield"-till death. This activity does not cease in old age,
when physical strength and vigour fail a man. Even in old age "some work of noble note
may yet be done," as Ulysses says to his mariners. This endless toil on the part of a man is
necessary in view of death which closes all. When a man is fated to die sooner or later, he
should spend his time in activity till the last day of his life, because every hour spent in
activity is not only something saved from the eternal silence of death, but also something
that may prove "a bringer of new things."
Ulysses, now quite an old man, made weak by time and fate, is reluctant to live at
home the life of comfort and ease, ruling a savage people and enjoying the sweet company
of his aged wife. He thinks it dull to rest from exploration "to pause, to make an end, to rust
unburnished, not to shine in use." His grey spirit yearns to "sail beyond the sunset and the
baths of all the western stars" until he dies.
Knowledge is limitless, while the life of a man is short. Knowledge is so vast that life
piled on life is not sufficient for acquiring all the knowledge that there is in this world. In
one life a man can learn only a fraction of this vast and limitless knowledge if he devotes
every hour to activity. If he wastes his time in idleness and rests from the pursuit of
knowledge in his old age, he will learn almost nothing. That is why a man must toil and toil
whether he is in his youth or old age. Knowing that "life piled on life were all too little" for
mastering all the knowledge of the world and gaining all the experience the world has in
store, Ulysses yearns,
"To follow knowledge, like a sinking star
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought."
He is so drunk with the desire to know the unknown, to see the unseen, to explore
the unexplored that it does not matter to him if "the gulfs will wash us down."
The attitude to life revealed in this poem is a complete contrast to the attitude
revealed in The Lotos-Eaters. The lotos eaters' attitude is one of idleness one of rest and
inactivity. They find no meaning in toil in view of the fact that death closes all. Death being
inevitable the narcotized mariners of Ulysses find no pleasure "in ever climbing up the
climbing wave." They say to Ulysses, "Give us long rest or death, dark death or dreamful
ease."
To conclude Ulysses expresses Ulysses's (i.e. Tennyson's) philosophy,- his outlook

on life.
Tennyson’s poetry is full of revolutionary ideas. He motivates his readers and

teaches them philosophy of life. He also gives moral lessons to his readers; therefore, his
poetry is not only for the purpose of pleasure but also for the purpose of learning. He
portrays themes based on philosophy. Thus, critics rightly adjudges Alfred Lord Tennyson
as a philosophical poet who explored the field of philosophy while portraying philosophical
ideas through his poetry.

Tennyson As A Philosopher Poet.

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Tennyson is hailed by the critics as a philosopher poet.

Explain with reference to

Tennyson was through and through a Victorian. As a representative of Victorian-era, he has

suggests his philosophical distance from his son Telemachus.

Tennyson had certain philosophical thoughts which he had expressed with

To follow knowledge, like a sinking star

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is basically an expression of a philosophy, a "set of beliefs or

"To follow knowledge, like a sinking star

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought."

To conclude Ulysses expresses Ulysses's (i.e. Tennyson's) philosophy,- his outlook

Tennyson’s poetry is full of revolutionary ideas. He motivates his readers and

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