or at least his fellow Mariners, when he says,All times I have enjoy'dGreatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with thoseThat loved me, and alone; on shore, and whenThro' scudding drifts the rainy HyadesVext the dim sea. (Ulysses, 7-11)Ulysses expresses a desire to move forward, not to stagnate, "How dull it is to pause, to make an end..." (Ulysses, 22). This forward looking attitude is typically Victorian. Ulysses desires to "follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Ulysses, 31) Here, Ulysses echoes of martyrdom and the pursuit of something tragically noble. He recognizes his inability to be a hero to his people, and his inability to lead them into change when he speaks of his son;This is my son, mine own Telemachus,To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle......discerning to fulfilThis labour, by slow prudence to make mildA rugged people...... Most blameless is he, centered in the sphereOf common duties... (Ulysses, 33-40)Ulysses cannot be a hero to the Ithacans (and he insinuates that it is a lowly sort of hero to tame the "rugged people"), yet he is still determined to be heroic;Death closes all' but something ere the end,Some work of noble note, may yet be done,Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. (Ulysses, 50-52)Ulysses paints the pictures of the tragic hero sailing off into the sunset, in search of knowledge purely for the sake of knowledge, experience for experience's sake;'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.Push off, and sitting well in order smiteThe sounding furrows; for my purpose holdsTo sail beyond the sunset... (Ulysses, 57-60)Here, Ulysses attempts to be convincing an audience of his quest. He desires a following, an audience, and as Carlyle states, a hero needs the recognition of an audience and a following to be a successful (active) hero. Yet two linked questions arise from this predicament: Who is Ulysses' audience, and if there is one, is he successful in gaining this following? The audience is never determin...
