Ulysses

Moreover, he describes himself as a ‘gray shadow’ (11) and a ‘white haired-shadow’ (8) and thus de-humanises himself in his descriptions. He also shows a separation between his past and present self such as when he says he was ‘once a man’ (11), implying he no longer human in any meaningful sense. He says his past self had ‘another heart’ (50) and that he had ‘other eyes’ (51). So, in both these poems, their self-pity is shown through the fact that they not only talk of their present woes but also because of the fact that they talk of how their previous life was so much better. Tennyson makes age the source of their self-pity.
Moreover, both the characters, Ulysses and Tithonus, try to go beyond the normal constraints of life. Ulysses wants to exert himself to such an extreme extent, as to immortalise himself in history, like a God. He shows great tenacity and says he is ‘strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.’ (82-83) this and other references show us that he is almost compulsive in his desire to achieve paramount greatness; he says he ‘cannot rest from travel’ (6) and talks of how ‘dull it is to pause’ (24). He does not only want to stretch the boundaries of what is humanly possible, he also shows a compulsive need to achieve beyond the boundaries of age, which is expressed when he mentions his desire ‘to sail beyond the sunset’. In the same way, Tithonus wanted to be ‘none other than a God’ (14), by gaining immorality. He wanted to beat the constraints of life and become close to a deity. He showed reckless and impulsive audacity when using the rash imperative, ‘give me immortality’ (15), and this showed that he had a strong desire to break human constraints. However, he does show a change of heart after receiving the ‘gift’, as he asks, ‘why should a man desire in any way / to vary from the kindly race of men, / or pass beyond the goal of ordinance?’ (27-30). But Tennyson shows that ambition was the cause of Tithonus and Ulysses...