Throughout Ulysses, Tennyson portrays through his hero, a sense that life is a whole lot more than just a preparation for death; it is necessary, in order to have a life to be satisfied with, you mustn't "rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use" When Ulysses says this, he means that your whole life, you need to be making progress, doing miraculous things. Not just living, "[a]s tho' to breathe were life!" I, like Ulysses have had experiences that have led me to believe that throughout life, you must always be making progress, and striving for better things.
For Ulysses, miraculous things, mean seeing "cities of men [a]nd manners, climates, councils..." Having "drunk delight of battle..." For me, doing miraculous things, are things that most people are afraid to do. Afraid because of the restraints that they put on themselves. Things like speaking of seeming unrealistic dreams, extreme sports, etc.
English: Pres. U.S. Grant (between 1870 and 1880) ...
English: Ulysses approaching Dublin Port
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, by George Fre...Technically, these things are different, but in essence, they have the same meaning. Ulysses, like me yearns to do miraculous things. To never grow mentally old. I feel this way, because look at people in this society, and I just see a hoard of people [t]hat hoard and sleep, and feedâ¦" My life means a whole lot more to me than that. I refuse to just get through life, working a job 40 hours a week until I'm 65, and then retire in Florida with 2 kids. I want to be rich, live like a king. I want to do all there is to do under the sun, and most impertinently on my deathbed, I want to be satisfied in every respect.
A particular experience that led me to these beliefs, happened my junior year in High School. I was at my friend Dan Bernstein's house, and...