Words Notes : Ulysses

 

PKG ENGLISH STUDY CENTRE

Study Notes: Important Phrases on Ulysses

1. 'free hearts and free foreheads' – free minds and open thoughts
2. Ulysses – 'idle king'
3. 'ringing plains' – battlefield of Troy
4. Achilles – the great Greek hero. He was the strongest of the Greek warriors in the Trojan War.
5. 'hungry heart' – Ulysses' heart is eager for further adventure.
6. 'long day wanes' – At a surface level, it refers the beginning of evening. But at deeper level, it symbolizes the fading vitality of Ulysses who has grown old. (evening + old age)
7. Penelope – 'aged wife'
8. 'thunder' – loss that Ulysses and his crew had to endure
9. 'rust unburnish'd' – metaphor of a sword. Ulysses wants to shine in glory.
10. 'He works his work, I mine' – Telemachus is expert in administration and Ulysses, in exploration.
11. Ithaca – 'barren crags'
12. 'offices of tenderness' – filial duties. It shows Telemachus' responsibility towards his family.
13. 'sunshine' – victory that Ulysses and his crew had
14. People of Ithaca – 'savage race'
15. 'gray spirit' – old age of Ulysses
16. 'Happy Isles' – Classical Paradise, 'The Islands of the Blessed'. Its modern name is Canary Isles. In Latin, it is called Fortunate insulae.
17. 'still hearth' – stagnancy in Ulysses' life
18. 'frolic welcome' – joyful greeting of the mariners ready to take adventure.
19. 'windy Troy' – reference to Trojan War
20. 'newer world' – It shows the restless spirit of Ulysses who wants to gather more knowledge and experience.
21. 'my son' – Telemachus who is Ulysses' son is a responsible person.
22. 'seas' – dark, broad, gloomy. Ulysses is ready to take adventure.
23. 'three suns' – three years. According to Tiresias' prophecy, Ulysses would live for three more years.
24. 'strove with Gods' – reference to Trojan War companions
25. 'rainy Hyades' – a Greek term meaning 'Rainers'. It is a constellation of seven stars.
26. Old age – Ulysses thinks that old age has its glory, too.
27. 'sinking star' – A star that is setting or drowning symbolizing Ulysses' old age
28. 'not unbecoming men' – Ulysses and his companions
29. 'my peers' – the mariners, the companions of Ulysses
30. 'rugged people' – the uncivilized people of Ithaca. Telemachus makes the uncivilized subjects civilized by his wisdom or prudence.
31. 'eternal silence' – death
32. Last line – "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield". It is an example of Climax.