It is important to realise that Tennyson is using the
Odyssey by Homer to write this poem. Ulysses is the Latin name for
Odysseus, one of the Greek heroes who fought in the Trojan War and was actually
responsible through his cunning and guile for conquering Troy and ending the conflict
through his idea of the Trojan Horse. Homer's Odyssey tells the
tale of the return of Odysseus back to his beloved wife and son, to take up his rightful
rule of Ithaca once more. However, in this poem, Ulysses is now imagined as an old king,
desiring one last adventure before his ultimate death. It is clear if you read the poem
carefully that Ulysses plans to leave the kingdom in the safe and capable hands of his
son, Telemachus. Note what Ulysses says:
This is my son, mine own
Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the
isle,--
Well-loved of me, discerning to
fulfill
This labour, by slow prudence to make
mild
A rugged people, and through soft
degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the
good.
Ulysses thus presents
his son to the population of Ithaca as a worthy replacement, as a man who will work hard
at his job of ruling them and will patiently maintain stability and encounter every
problem that could arise.
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