The first four lines of the second stanza contrast fantasy and reality; and at this time it seems that Keats prefers fantasy. This is shown by the oxymoron of Keats believing that unheard melodies are sweeter than those which are heard, and so the tale about the ideal, fantasy world told soundlessly by the paintings on the urn is sweeter than any real-life tales. From line 15-20 Keats seems to be listing the drawbacks of frozen time and he keeps using negative phrases like 'canst not leave', 'nor ever can' and 'never,never canst', but then he completely turns it around at the end of line twenty. He says not to grieve (but it is not clear whether he is addressing the frozen images or the reader or both?) because there are advantages to being frozen in time. However he continues to use negative phrasing like 'cannot fade' and 'hast not thy bliss'. This makes one wonder if his negative undertone is purely coincidental or if there is a reason for it. In the next stanza the poet continues on the same subject. He thinks that the passion, love and beauty shown on the urn is far above any transient real, human passion which eventually loses its intensity and all that is left is a sorrowful heart, a 'burning forehead', and a 'parching tongue'. However, again the reader notices his overuse of the term 'happy'; it almost seems as if this happiness the poet is feeling is forced and in reality he is resentful of the everlasting life and love of those on the urn. Keats talks longingly about the immortality established on the urn but he also perhaps realizes that true immortality doesn't exist. The most likely reason for the morbid undertones is probably the fact that Keats was dying when he wrote this poem. He died a very young man, at the age of twenty-six from tuberculosis. He knew he was dying, and being so young this probably depressed him, which is why the idea of death and longing for immortality is probably reflected in his poem.
In the fourth stanza Keats uses his words to help the reader actually 'see' the scene rather than just read it. In this stanza the reader sees a slight change in his tone. Its almost as if now he starts looking at the bad side of the urn and his tone changes from longing to some amount of pity. The people who have left their town for the sacrifice are frozen in time and since they cannot return their town will forever remained desolate with not soul to tell us why the town is empty.
In the last stanza it is almost as if the poet no longer feels the life depicted on the urn. He uses phrases like 'marble men' and 'cold pastoral', none of which have the previous passion in them. Yet the poet did earlier experience the life depicted on the urn and so he comments that the urn 'dost tease us out of thought'. By this the reader wonders if the poet meant that the urn draws us from a real to a fantasy world, where there is no imperfection but also no real fulfillment. Or if he means that he got so enraptured by the life on the urn that he forgot about reality. Or perhaps that the urn was a temporary escape from the problems of life. All of these explanations are plausible. The poet then calls the urn a 'friend to man', however due to its immortality any aesthetic connection formed between the urn and the poet is ultimately insufficient to satisfy him completely. The last two lines of the poem are probably the most perplexing and a lot of readers completely disregard them as a blemish on the beautiful poem. After the urn says that 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty' it is not clear who speaks the conclusion which is 'that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know'. Perhaps it is the poet speaking to the urn of its limitations. This would mean that the poet understands that the urn knows nothing beyond the equation of beauty and truth and therefore can never sufficiently represent human life. However it could also be the urn addressing mankind where its advice is not very clear.
In the case of Tennyson’s poem 'Ulysses' is written as a dramatic monologue. Thus there is only one speaker in the whole poem and his identity can be discovered through his
own words. The poem is written in blank verse or unrhymed iambic pentameter. Many of the lines in the poem are enjambment. This means that the thought which the speaker (Ulysses) is having does not end in a line-break, but often ends in the middle of a line. The constant use of these enjambments in the poem is very appropriate as the poem itself is about trying to go beyond the boundaries of human thought. All these factors help to give Ulysses' speech a more natural and fluid quality.
This poem is about Ulysses' life back at home, after the Trojan War and his twenty year long journey. In it Ulysses complains about how boring and meaningless his life has become now hat he is stuck at home. The 'still hearth' and 'barren crags' symbolize old age. As Ulysses continues on his path of self pity, the reader begins to realize that shallowness of character of this legend. He is so self-centered that he cares about and respects no one but himself, not even his wife and especially not the people he rules. His arrogance keeps him from embracing the wisdom and grace of old age as he claims to be unable to rest as he wants to 'drink life to the lees', even though he has already experienced so much in his life and has both suffered and enjoyed greatly. The lines 'I am become a name', 'I am a part of all that I have met' and 'myself not least, but honor'd of them all' reflect Ulysses' pride and awareness he has of his legendary fame. He has a 'hungry heart', a personification which symbolizes Ulysses' insatiable desire to travel and explore.
Now however, after Ulysses has finished glorifying himself, he once again begins to lament about having to 'pause' and 'to make an end'. He hates his old age and the fact that he is most probably going to die at home and not on a journey 'shining in use'. He thinks that one life is not enough for him as there is so much more that he wants to discover but he has so little time left to do it. Not only that but he is no more his youthful self and he hates how much old age has weakened him. Ulysses can see death at his doorstep but still he feels that every hour he has left is precious for his quest for knowledge. In line 31 Tennyson uses a meaningful and vivid simile comparing 'knowledge' to a 'sinking star' as this is the star which is the most elusive and difficult to find in the vast sky. In line 32 Tennyson uses a hyperbole to dramatize how much Ulysses yearns for the undiscovered.
From line 33-43 Ulysses talks about passing on his rule to his son Telemachus. However the reader can see that Ulysses feels that his son will never be able to match up to him. Ulysses is not at all proud of his son and this can be seen in the words 'slow prudence', 'blamelessness' and 'decency' which he uses to describe his son's abilities.
'It is human to err.'- In the last part of this poem the readers realize that in spite of all his faults Ulysses wasn't all bad and he too is human like them. Ulysses calls upon his mariners as 'souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me', making the readers see that he is not as arrogant and unappreciative of others as we thought. Tennyson uses symbolism all through the last part of the poem. The 'port' symbolizes the final destination, 'the vessel puffs her sail' symbolizes the soul ready to leave, and the 'dark broad seas' show the unknown nature of their final journey. Ulysses calls upon his comrades to take up the challenge in the face of death and like true soldiers, to fight till the end. He refuses to give into the vagaries of old age and in line 56 he asks the readers to join him in his last battle. Tennyson has very cleverly added this open invitation to join Ulysses in the poem as it immediately forms a bond between him and the readers. Ulysses does not know where death will take him and so in line 60-65 he says that after his death it may be that 'the gulf will wash us down' symbolizing the possibility of Hell or he will reach the 'Happy
Isles' symbolizing paradise or heaven where he will be greeted by his old friends like Achilles. In line 67 Tennyson uses the hyperbolic expression 'Moved earth and heaven', to highlight the legendary strength of Ulysses. In the next line, however Ulysses says 'that which we are, we are' showing that maybe now he has come to terms with the mortality of human life. In the last lines of the poem Ulysses has left the readers with a strong message, a message urging us never to give up hope even when we are 'Made weak by time and fate' we should remain 'strong in will./To strive, to seek, to find,and not to yield.' This makes the reader look at Ulysses in a new light. We begin to wonder whether at the beginning of the poem was Ulysses complaining about his sorry state because he couldn't accept old age or was he trying to help the readers take notice of life and live it tp the fullest? In this light Ulysses seems to be someone who's thoughts are far ahead of the normal person. His quest for knowledge was unquenchable; maybe he was seeking a higher truth, something 'Beyond the utmost bound of human thought'. In the line 'for my purpose holds/ To sail beyond the sunset' definitely shows that he was seeking something beyond death. Thus this makes the reader think that maybe Ulysses' restlessness and dissatisfaction was not his faults but his greatest virtues.
Thus, we see that in both poems the poets use strong language and imagery to evoke emotions from their readers. These poems are meant to inspire people and make them think about life as a beautiful thing which should not be wasted. In both poems the readers feel a connection with the speaker whether it is with Keats' internal conflict between fantasy and reality or the agony Ulysses experiences when he cannot continue on his quest for knowledge.
