Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses" allows the reader to enter the mind of Odysseus after his return to Ithaca (Ferguson, Salter and Stallworthy, 1996). While he initially thought he would find peace in his kingdom, he feels quite the opposite. Odysseus is now old and wonders how he really wants to spend his last days. In recounting his return to Ithaca, Odysseus comments on three main disappointments: his wife, his son, and his people. Reflecting on his twenty years of adventure, he questions his decision to return to Ithaca. He must prove to himself that the journey was better than actually reaching the destination before he abandons everything he has worked for to return. By comparing what he experienced at sea with what he must hope for in Ithaca, Odysseus manages to convince himself that he is right to want to return to the sea with his comrades. In the first stanza, Odysseus addresses how his wife and home have become undesirable since his return. He “compares” himself to an “aged” wife (1.3), surrounded by a “still hearth” among “barren rocks” (1.2). A fireplace is meant to be the focus of a fire, and a still fireplace would be a quiet, unmoving, unused fireplace. A quiet fireplace does no good for the home in keeping it warm and friendly. “Barren” can have two meanings, one of them being an empty, desolate area that arouses no desire to remain there. It is interesting to note that “barren” can also be applied to one's wife as to a person who is lifeless and incapable of having children. Perhaps Odysseus does not feel welcomed by his wife and she does not light a fire in his heart as he remembers. Finally, the simple statement that she is "old" implies that she is past... middle of paper... as bad as he claims, so rather than admitting that there are just a few. things that disappoint him, he explains why he wants to leave. Ulysses convinces himself that the will “to strive, to seek, to find and not to give in” (4.70) must not lose its vigor with age. Never coping, never giving up and always seeking more are as essential to Odysseus' life as air, so he must find his sailors at sea. At home, he deals with an old woman, a son mediocre and to a barbaric people. Even more, he reflects on the fulfilling, adventurous and legendary life he led before returning home. By contrasting his current life in Ithaca with his past life on the sea and his future possibilities for adventure, Odysseus manages to persuade himself that he is justified in his desire to leave home again and explore the world on the seas..