Lesson #4

[MrBranchAPLit]

A couple of terms that you may or may not be completely familiar with and that might appear in some form on the exam:

1) Verse - metrical language.

2) Blank Verse - the primary form of English langauge poetry, especially before the 20th century. It consists of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

(Remember that iambic pentameter is a line of poetry with 10 syllables (or 5 feet) with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. We find iambic pentameter in all of Shakespeare's sonnets. However, his sonnets are not written in blank verse, they are written in the sonnet form)

3) Free Verse - Not to be confused with blank verse, free verse is a form of poetry that conforms to no set rules of traditional versification. It is a form free of fixed patterns of meter and rhyme.

(Blank verse and free verse are often confused or misunderstood. A good way to remember the difference is to think of the word blank as meaning that the ends of the lines where rhymes would normally appear are "blank," i.e., devoid of rhyme; the free in free verse refers to the freedom from fixed patterns.)

"Sound and Sense" and "Bob's Byway"

Read the following poem and respond to the questions below:

Ulysses

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees; all times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy,
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle?
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me?
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads?you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.


Tennyson's poem was written shortly after the death of his best friend and is presented as a dramatic monologue in poetic form.

1. Identify the allusion.

2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 01, 2008 08:06 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font>

[dainkelly]

1. The poem alludes to homer's illiad and odessy

2. This poem is written like an epic poem, except too short. there is no real rhyme, but it has the feel of an epic poem, maybe because its written in an older language.

3.The first part of the poem adresses the desire that ulysses has to leave his home, and his thirst for adventure that drives him. The second part of the poem talks about how he does love his son but that the life he has at home is not meant for him; "He works his work, I mine". The last part is again about his yearning to leave, but you get more of an idea that he is going to leave for adventure, not only that he wants to, despite his old age.

4.Tennyson characterizes Ulysses as an adventurer, one who lives in search of nothing but adventure and knoledge of the world: "I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lee"

5.The way of life of an explorer or adventurer, somebody who only seeks to soak up life to its fullest, and holds "carpe diem" as his MO.

7. I believe that this poem is probably a 7, because the way its written makes it hard to understant, but even with the first reading you get the gist of it, it does require some thinking to understand though.

[mrodriguez]

1. Identify the allusion.

The allusion is to Ulysses from the Odyssey and there is a brief reference to the Trojan war as well.

2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?

The poem is written in blank verse because it consists of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?

The first section is Ulysses reflecting on his current state of idleness in his island. He is unhappy settling down. The second section talks about his love for his son and how their lives differ since he is meant to stay in the island and rule. The third section is of setting of for adventure, and how even with his old age he can still do it and "discover new worlds".

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?

Ulysses is characterized as a man thirsty for adventure who has difficulty settling down.

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?

Ulysses symbolizes the explorer and impulsive way of life. He can't settle down despite the fact that he loves his family, because he can't live without traveling and acquiring knowledge of the world. He is something of a nomad with a curious spirit.

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?

It seems as if they mean free will, as in freedom to feel what they want and freedom to think what they want. There are many more examples of figurative language. Such as "sunset" for "horizon".

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?

This poem is a 7 I would say. It is not straightforward English and some words I had to look up in the dictionary. The first reading I did not understand it much, but after a second read I understood it pretty well.

[shepner]

Tennyson's poem was written shortly after the death of his best friend and is presented as a dramatic monologue in poetic form.

1. Identify the allusion.
The allusion is to Homer's "The Odyssey, since even the title is named after the epic poem's main character, Ulysses.
2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?
The poem is written in blank verse because it is written in unrhymed lines but in iambic pentameter.
3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?
The first section, which is the longest of all three, is just sort of a summary of how Ulysses is feeling about being in the island: he does not like it. In the second section, he contrasts his destiny and his son's, since he has to stay in the island because it is his duty. The third section is where we really see the adventurous spirit of the Odyssey, since he talks about discovering new worlds despite his age or any other impediment.
4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?
He is an innate ruler who has an adventurous soul and doesn't like staying in one place.
5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?
An active, nomadic way of life is symbolized by Ulysses. He can't stay in the island and only wants to get to know new places, no matter what.
6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?
Free hearts obviously means free souls, and free foreheads probably means free thoughts, as in no censuring or opressing anyone's thoughts. The poem is full of figurative language, like when he talks of a "hungry heart." Obviously, it isn't hungry literally: it must be hungry for adventure or something.
7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?
I would put a six on it, because besides the very advanced vocabulary that makes it difficult to understand, it also is quite long, making it even more difficult.

[felavaz]

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees; all times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy,
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle?
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me?
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads?you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.


Tennyson's poem was written shortly after the death of his best friend and is presented as a dramatic monologue in poetic form.

1. Identify the allusion.
The allusion is to the character Ulysses from The Odyssey.

2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?
It's written in blank verse, since it doesn't have a rhyme scheme but is written in iambic pentameter.

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?
The first section talks about his life, everything he has known, his previous experiences, and how he feels about where he is now. The second section describes his son--and his love for the boy--and explains that he leaves his throne to his son. The third section gives a sort of "carpe diem" approach to his life. He intends to seize the rest of his life as much as possible. Despite his old age, he plans to travel, meet new places, and engage in new adventures throughout his last years.

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?
Someone who loves the thrill of adventures and meeting new places; someone who would never die bored in an island.

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?
We can say that the adventurous, sort of pirate life is symbolized by Ulysses, since he likes to sail and get to know new places.

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?
Those two metonymies basically mean complete freedom--of the heart and the mind--which he could find if he went travelling around. There are myriads of other examples of figurative language in the poem, like "not to shine in use." He is talking about it being a pity not to shine as much as you can while you can, basically.

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?
I would say about a 7. The first time I read it, none of it was fluent or made sense. Then, when I tried to break it up by parts, it was easier to understand. What I found easy about it was the fact that it was so adventurous and it merely listed his experiences in the first stanza, which was nice. I felt like I was hearing stories from a grandfather.

[hcaceres]

1.Identify the allusion.

The allusion used in the poem corresponds to Ulysses from The Odyssey.

2.Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?

In my opinion, the poem is written in blank verse. It is not written in free verse because it has some constraints, such as the syllables in each line. However, it does not have a rhyme patter, which rules out any other form of structural poem.

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?

The first part of the poem focuses on every experience that Ulysses had, and his life in a general manner. In the second part, Ulysses describes how his son influenced his life, and the importance that son represents. In the third part, Ulysses talks about what he has prepared for the rest of his life, which involve new experiences.

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?

Tennyson describes Ulysses as a free and wild spirit who is unable to settle for the ordinary or daily routine.

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?

Ulysses symbolizes a short-term, pleasure-seeking, wanderer?s life as he lives through his new adventures.

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?

This metonymy represents the complete freedom described. Free hearts symbolizes the emotional freedom, while free heads represents a detachment from the rational and logical sense.

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?

I would say it lies between a 6 and a 7 because of the syntax used by the author as well as the antique theme it discusses. This poem would be very hard to understand if one does not know the allusions implied.

[cjkb90]

1. Allusions made to Homer's epic poems, mostly the Odyssey.

2. Blank verse, since the rhyme is not even and theres iambic pentameter.

3. The first is about his present, the state he is in on the island. The second is addressed to his son, while the third talks about his future and the adventures it may hold.

4. Ulysses is a free spirit, who is also characterized by his almost divine right to rule.

5. He lives the life of an adventurous nomad, who can not stay in one place in spite of his feeble sense of responsibility of what he is responsible for where he is.

6. The freedom to think, feel and do what he wants."And this gray spirit yearning in desire" is his aging soul, still trying to live young.

7. I would score a 6, because there are harder poems, yet you must re-read this one several times in order to understand it. What I found easy were the allusions to Homer's writings, since I've read both the Illiad and Odyssey.

[rcln]

1. Identify the allusion.
The poem alludes to Ulysses from Homer's "Odyssey."

2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?
The poem is written in blank verse, since the verses are written in unryhmed iambic pentameter.

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?
The first section of the poem reflects Ulysses' ardor to venture through the sea and roam through the earth as he "cannot rest from travel." Ulysses devotes the second section to his son Telemachus, to whom he gives his kingdom and his responsibilities as a governor in order to fulfill his own work as a traveler. The third section focuses on the narrator's appeal to his mariners "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield," regardless of their age. All three sections can be interpreted as a monologue.

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?
Tennyson characterizes Ulysses as the individual who resents the jejune lifestyle and is driven by his "hungry heart" to reach beyond the limits of the "barren crags."

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?
Ulysses symbolizes the wanderer's life who is always seeking for more adventures and challenges and would only halt upon death.

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?
"Free hearts, free foreheads" represent the freedom of the soul and mind.

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?
Personally, I would give it a 6 for its complexity in vocabulary and sentence structure. If this poem appeared on the AP exam, I wouldn't have enough time to grasp the meaning behind it.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 08, 2008 09:38 PM: Message edited by: brucelin ]</font>

[sofiastaburuaga]

1. Identify the allusion.
The poem alludes to Homer?s Iliad and the Odyssey.

2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?
The poem is written in free verse because it has an iambic pentameter but it doesn?t have a definite rhyme scheme.

3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?
The first section of the poem talks about his past and all he had gone through like past wars, adventures,
?Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy,
I am a part of all that I have met.?
The second section he talks about his son and how when he dies he had taught him well enough for him to make the right choices in life and live in a good, correct and honest way. He said that when he was gone his son would be able to work on his own. The third section talks about his future adventures and how no one can be too old to find newer worlds, learn, and see new things that might come their way.

4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?
Ulysses is characterized as being audacious, brave, and wanting to keep moving and not being able to stay in one place because of being anxious to know the world and go into new adventures:
?'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles...?

5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?
It can be described as an adventurous life and can also be argued to being in the verge of being a little bit hedonist because he always seeks pleasures an he said, ?That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees; all times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly?.

6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?
This metonymy represent and emotional and intellectual liberty. Ulysses does what he wants whenever he wants and nothing gets in his way to stop him.

7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?
Alter reading it a few times the poem started to make much more sense. The difficult part was to figure out what it was alluding to. But then I found clues like the war of troy, the sailing trips and his son?s name Telemachus and it made all sense after one connects the dots. I would give it a 7.

[mariecburt]

1. Identify the allusion.

The allusion is to Homers "Oddesy"


2. Is this poem written in free verse, blank verse, or is it in some other form (like a sonnet)? How do you know?

The poem is written in blank verse. This is because the rhyme scheme is not even and there is iambic pentameter in the poem.


3. Ulysses speech is divided into three sections: beginning at lines 1, 33 ("This is my son..."), and 44 ("There lies the port..."). What is the purpose of each section? To whom is each section addressed?

The first section beggining on line 1 is Ulysses on the island and how he is feeling about life, etc. The second section is directed to Ulysses son. The third section is talking about the uncertainty of the future.


4. What kind of person is Ulysses as characterized by Tennyson?

An adventurous man, with a free spirit looking for new things to inspire him.


5. What way of life is symbolized by Ulysses?

A free life with no contraints and only concerned on finding adventure.


6. What do the two metonymies "Free hearts, free foreheads" represent? Are there any other examples of figurative language that you found?

These two metonymies go on with the same theme that is presented through out the poem, freedom.


7. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult) how hard was this poem to understand? What did you find easy/difficult about it?

I would give the poem a 6. The poem must be read multiple times to get the meaning and still then there is a lot of complex vocabulary and allusions that I might not know or recognize in an AP test.