Ulysses

Alfred Tennyson

1. What is the full name of Alfred Tennyson?

Ans: The full name of Alfred Tennyson is Alfred Lord Tennyson. 

2. What literary period does Tennyson belong to?

Ans: Tennyson belong to the Victorian period. 

3. What kind of poem is "Ulysses"?

Ans: “Ulysses” is a dramatic monologue.

4. What is a dramatic monologue?

Ans: A dramatic monologue is a kind of lyric poem in which a single speaker expresses his views and feelings throughout the poem to a silent listener.

5. Who is the speaker in "Ulysses"?

Ans: The speaker in "Ulysses" is Ulysses. 

6. In what verse is "Ulysses" written?

Ans: Ulysses is written in blank verse.

7. What are the themes of "Ulysses"?

Ans: The themes of “Ulysses” are determination, thirst for knowledge and mortality.

8. What Victorian spirit do you find in 'Ulysses"?

Ans: The Victorian spirit that we find in 'Ulysses" is the indomitable desire “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield”.

9. Who is Ulysses?

Ans: Ulysses was the king of Ithaca and one of the Greek leaders in the Trojan War.

10. What does Ulysses symbolize? 

Ans: Ulysses symbolizes the movement of seeking knowledge.

11. Who is Penelope?

Ans: Penelope is the wife of Ulysses and mother of Telemachus.

12. What does Ulysses say about his wife? 

Ans: Ulysses says that his wife is aged.

13. Why can't Ulysses match with his wife?

Ans: Ulysses can’t match with his wife because he has a Victorian spirit that can’t rest from travel.

14. What does Ithaca symbolize?

Ans: Ithaca symbolizes barrenness and dullness.

15. How is life presented in Ithaca?

Ans: In Ithaca, life is presented as idle, static, barren and uncivilized.

16. "I will drink life to the less"- who said it? 

Ans: Ulysses said the line 'I will drink life to the less'.

17. "I will drink life to the lees"- What does the line mean?

Ans: "I will drink life to the lees" means the desire to enjoy life completely till the last breath. 

18. Who is the son of Ulysses? 

Ans: Telemachus is the son of Ulysses.

19. Discuss the character of Telemachus.

Ans: Telemachus is opposite to his father. He is blameless, decent and tender. He is prudent and soft to his subjects. He is capable of performing common duties and showing respect to household gods. 

20. What is Ulysses' perception of his son Telemachus?

Ans: Ulysses’ perception of his son Telemachus is that he (T) is better than him (U) in domestic affairs and will be able to rule the ‘rugged people’ of Ithaca.

21. Who was Achilles?

Ans: Achilles, son of Thetis and Peleus, was a demigod. He was the Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.

22. What do the "Happy Isles" refer to?

Ans: The "happy isles" refers to the Islands of the Blessed, a place where great Greek heroes like Achilles enjoyed perpetual summer after they died.