Ulysses has many of the qualities of a dramatic monologue. It is spoken in the first person, and the speaker is clearly involved in the narrative, not outside it. As the speaker of a dramatic monologue, Tennyson's Ulysses shows his character to the audience without necessarily realising it himself. He emphasises his past greatness, his eagerness for new adventure: he is scornful of his "aged wife" and the "savage race" that he rules over.
However, the reader may suspect that Tennyson is also showing us a man past his prime, chafing against the restrictions of age and the boring but necessary "labour" of ruling the kingdom and bringing enlightenment to the people. We may see irony in the way Ulysses longs to go out an seek enlightenment and "follow knowledge" but is not interested in imparting it or using it for "the useful and the good" - that task is handed over to his stay-at-home son.
Finally, though, I think Tennyson lets us feel his hero's courage, and longing for a wider world, more strongly than anything else in the poem.
However, the reader may suspect that Tennyson is also showing us a man past his prime, chafing against the restrictions of age and the boring but necessary "labour" of ruling the kingdom and bringing enlightenment to the people. We may see irony in the way Ulysses longs to go out an seek enlightenment and "follow knowledge" but is not interested in imparting it or using it for "the useful and the good" - that task is handed over to his stay-at-home son.
Finally, though, I think Tennyson lets us feel his hero's courage, and longing for a wider world, more strongly than anything else in the poem.