Taking a deeper look into the poem titled “Ulysses,” shows that it is just a bit of text in which the character that this same poem is named after, also known as Odysseus! Yes, the same dude from that epic poem that was written by Homer, titled “Odyssey.” Isn’t it interesting that this is the second poem to be named after the same character, even if the first one was only a bit similar to the name.
“Ulysses” the poem seems to take place after the events of the epic “Odyssey” as we get to read about how Ulysses complains about how boring and aggravating it is to be the king of the island he is on, which is named Ithaca if it is the same as the epic from before. His wife is too old for him and he has to carry out the rules that he thinks are flawed and rule over people who he labels as stupid and tribal. His main argument of why this is being that none of his people really know who he is or the life that he has made for himself so far, and the variety of things that he has gone through, their life is monotonous, repeating the same thing over and over: eating, sleeping, storing their gains up whether it be wealth or whatever else they produce like crops.
Instead, Ulysses goes on about how the best way to live life, in his beliefs and ideals, is to travel around the world much like how he did before, like in “Odyssey.” In some ways, I could definitely agree that such a thing is one of the best ways to live life, even with the difficulties it brings it is always different in some way or another, bringing a healthy variety to what the normalities of an everyday life would bring along with it. However, such a way of life these days is unrealistic and not as profitable as it used to be, no matter how big my dreams of becoming seafaring treasure hunter or explorer of lost places.