This poem struck me because of its allusion to Homer’s classic tale, The Odyssey. The narrator walks along his bookshelf, analyzing his own life through his descriptions.
There is a daydreaming tone in this poem. The narrator remembers some of his favorite stories, wishing that his life contained the adventure and excitement that he read about in them. He feels that his life is lacking the romance that Lord Byron wrote about or that he has not made a great contribution to society like Blaise Pascal. He feels that his own life seems meaningless and uninteresting in comparison with these literary and scientific giants.
The narrator returns to reality in stanzas five and six when his wife comes to mind. He still longs for another life, but his bookshelf full of classics suggest that he is well-read, which also indicates that he has been successful in life, at least financially. A common theme in this semester’s readings has been dissatisfaction with life accompanied by an inability to leave; this poem also describes the narrator as being tied to the place he has made his home even though he wants something more from life. He does not have a clear goal in mind, which is why he refers to the greatness of others, as opposed to presenting his own dreams. The narrator then becomes critical of Ulysses’s decision to keep his ties to his homeland and wife. Where Ulysses left his bow with his wife, the narrator would have taken it with him. This says that if the narrator had the chance to leave, he feels that he would have broken all ties with his former life.
Since I had no idea what this poem was talking about about prior to reading this post, I'm really impressed with your explanation. Now the Ulysses allusion is clear, so thank you!
ReplyDeleteI also liked your explanation regarding Blaise Pascal and the other names used in the poem. These men have all, of course, made obvious marks on and inseverable ties with history and where they're from. Because of these ties, it seems that during their lifetimes, it would be impossible for any of them to just pick up their things and leave to start over in another country. I wonder if the narrator is using them to point out how able he is to do so in contrasts to them.