Onasander Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) This poem by Tennyson reminds me a bit of Petronius' Satyricon, if taken in the Ironic Vein..... in how Tennyson took a Homeric theme and turned it upside down using essentially a Cynic character act out a debached, Anti-Virtuous Scene. Petronius did the same, taking a Platonic Dialogue as the basis of his dinner scene. Ulysses was debated among the early Cynics, from a missing portion of the larger Homeric Cycle, if he was indeed the first Cynic, for traveling around in Libya in disguise wearing a cloak, pretending to be a beggar.... Interesting how Ulysses always, be it to evade unseen, or reenacting in the 8th level of hell his blind hubris, is a archetype for a philosophy the real man, if there ever was a real one, would not stand for. The character has a submerged alterego Homer appears unaware of, that only later writers seem to see, be they classical or victorian. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(poem) Edited May 23, 2014 by Onasander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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