Note: In this famous Victorian-era poem, Tennyson imagines the Greek hero Ulysses (aka Odysseus), now an elderly man, bored with his tedious life and wife, rousing his crew to join him for one more adventure. For a shorter version, omit the sections within brackets.
[I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
life to the lees. All times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
that loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed 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 honored of them all—
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.]
I am part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades
Forever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end.
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
