"Sing within me, Muse, and through me tell the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay at " Why violent video games should not be banned." ?Get the original essay from this man skilled in all ways of fighting, the wanderer, harassed for years, after plundering the fortress on the proud heights of Troy. He saw the cities and learned the spirit of many distant men, and endured many bitter nights and days in his heart deep at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring back his comrades. at home. (Homer 1.1-10) Odysseus/Odysseus is a classic figure who reappears historically in the poetry of many writers Having reappeared in the classic works of at least three poets - Homer's Odyssey, Inferno. by Dante and Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses" - it is clearly magnetic in its appeal to many cultures, regardless of context. However, the contrasts between the ancient Odysseus, the medieval era, and the Victorian era reflect shifting tensions in the cultural context. Because Odysseus comes up so often in Western history, it seems that he is some sort of indicator of the culture's beliefs. In this article I will explore the most thematic characteristics of the character of Odysseus as he returns home in the Odyssey, as he burns in hell in Dante's Inferno and as he illustrates perseverance and courage in Tennyson’s “Ulysses”. depicted as a hero who longs to return home to his family after the Trojan War, but he endures countless struggles in the process. Dante, rather, coming from the Trojan/Roman side of the Trojan War, depicts Odysseus as cunning and prideful, comparable even to Icarus in his need for excess. And Tennyson, in the era of British colonization, sees Odysseus as an adventurous hero with the strength and determination to persevere in the face of adversity. Regardless of their different perspectives on Odysseus, each shows a very human interest in maintaining his integrity. It is in their works that we can see the change in the definition of virtue and the abstractions that indicate virtue. I will start with the Odyssey because it is about Odysseus as he first appears in our history. Homer uses a number of techniques to characterize. Before giving a speech or in the middle of a dialogue, Homer used a number of adjectives to describe the character of the person about to speak, as it relates to his response. As an author, Homer is closest to Odysseus and so when he describes Odysseus as "cunning Odysseus" or "Ulysses, the great tactician", the impression obtained is more nuanced and direct than the interpretations we can have of our own culture at the time. Dialogue of Ulysses. The Odysseus of Homer's time was a hero. As such, the characteristics he embodied had primarily positive connotations. Homer called Odysseus: “the noble and enduring man” (Homer 26.219), “the royal man” (Homer 15.588), “that sly and cunning man” (Homer 14.457), “the great tactician” (Homer 11.438) and “the strategist” (Homer 5.223). It is clear from these descriptions that Homer considered Odysseus to be an admirable man. Cunning, cunning and tact are the qualities most talked about, and they were obviously respected. Cunning has clearly undergone a change in connotation since Homer used it. But the change in connotation illustrates the differences in context. This cunning was a positive trait in the time of Odysseus and Homer, which highlights the value of language in their culture. Odysseus was able to use language to manipulate the situation byfavor of its interests. It is not that Odysseus often lies exactly to his audience, but rather he says whatever he needs to say to make the necessary preparations. For example, while trying to leave Kalypso's island smoothly, without offending Kalypso, he almost insults his wife. He said to Kalypso: “My quiet Penelope, as I well know, would seem a shadow before your Majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, although she must die. Yet it is true, every day I long for home, for the sight of home” (Homer 5.224-229). The "cunning" in Odysseus' response lies in his ability to hide his intentions and feelings by getting around the problem. Kalypso wanted to know why Odysseus would leave her unless she was inferior to Penelope, rather than focusing on a comparison or defending his wife, he instead focuses on her desire to see her home. He intuitively knows what the situation needs and uses language to do it. avoid any obstacle that comes between him and his goals. The fact that “strategist,” “noble and enduring man,” and “tactician” have positive meanings alludes to the importance of rhetorical skills in ancient times. This strategy shows the value of language in a culture in which oratory skills were essential to resolving conflicts and could not be exercised over the telephone, and control could not be exercised through bureaucracy. . In such a context, the intuition of knowing what needs to be done and how to say what he needs to say were qualities that made him a hero and a great warrior. Dante, however, placed the cunning and cunning tactician Odysseus in his Hell. In Canto 26, Dante followed Virgil into the eighth circle to find Odysseus there as an “adviser in matters of fraud in war” (Dante Canto 26). Dante prefigures his view of Odysseus by saying: “I control my mind more than I am accustomed to, so that it cannot function without virtue guiding it” (Dante 26, 20-22). It's as if he were saying: "I'm in the eighth circle, I see what's happening, but I won't let myself be invaded and I will remain cautious, unlike Odysseus." In Dante's eyes, Odysseus was mistaken in his intentions rather than in his means. Odysseus, in Dante's eyes, used his mind to satisfy worldly emotions like anger and revenge. Dante focused on Odysseus' ethical indifference. Dante's side of thinking that he hoped he would use his mind only in the pursuit of virtue was a warning and an allusion to the misguided way Odysseus used the mind. This marks a change in the meaning of virtue. Odysseus was a hero in his time because of his ability to carry out the necessary plan. In fact, it made him virtuous. Virtue consisted of protecting the homeland and the people. Dante's view implies that Odysseus went beyond virtue and bordered on pride or greed. However, he did not place Odysseus in the fourth circle for greed. Instead, he focused on Odysseus as an advisor on fraud in war. Fraud is closely linked to trickery. So Dante puts Odysseus in hell for his dishonesty in war, because dishonesty was worse than pride. In canto 26, Dante highlights Odysseus' guilt and dishonesty towards Achilles. In the Iliad, Achilles was a heroic character because he avenged the death of his best friend Petroclus. Once again, the behavior of Achilles and Odysseus highlights a clear difference in the appearance of a hero in ancient times and in medieval times. In a way, it seems that to be virtuous/heroic in Homer's world, a character must be guided by emotion and, in their quest for honor(honor unlike the medieval world), be ready to go to extremes. maintain the initial objective. It's not that Dante doesn't respect honor. But his perception of honor is different from that of classic characters. Dante's sense of honor is a Christian honor, while Odysseus's quest for honor is an unconditional pursuit of worldly honor. This is reflected in Virgil's words as he guides Dante through the eighth circle. Looking at the fires, Virgil said: “In the fires are the spirits; each one is enveloped in what burns him internally... There, inside, Ulysses and Diomedes are punished; so together they go to punishment as they went to anger... there, within, they mourn the art that makes Deidamie, though dead, still mourn Achilles” (Dante Canto 26.47-62). The art that separated Achilles from Deidamia was the cunning and wit of Odysseus. They were engulfed in what was burning them inside (figuratively depicted as fire), showing Dante's view of Odysseus' anger and uncontrolled rage regarding the needs of the world rather than the sacred ones. Odysseus was clearly some sort of brilliant, but his pride, again mixed with rage, comes” appears clearly in the Odyssey in the scene from Book IX, in which he boasts as he leaves Kyklops. His pride attracts the wrath of Poseidon. Once again, pride prevented him from returning to Ithaca, to his family and his responsibilities. He seems to want to return home, but he is so presumptuous that he repeatedly offends those who affect his destiny. Here again, we can see a change in the definition of virtue. It was not that Odysseus focused on excessive honor, or honor beyond reason, that Dante damned; rather, it was that he wanted the honor of the world, which was a desire for honor for the wrong reasons. He was consumed by feelings, and rather by the feelings that acted in the best physical interest of all involved (the Greeks, the Trojans, the warriors, those at home), Odysseus, as well as Achilles in madness murderer who followed the death of Petroclus, acted with passionate and ardent anger. The fact that Odysseus was so cautious, cunning, and witty made him an even more dangerous character because he was so capable of disguising his passionate intentions under the guise of virtue or honor. Not only was he deceitful, but he also didn't realize that his behavior was sometimes too fantastic. It is reasonable to see that Odysseus would become insatiably enveloped in honor. It's like the modern capitalist who is so busy making money that he never has a realistic perspective of the real role of money in life. Ulysses does not seek the badges of success out of physical necessity, but out of pride and an endless quest for recognition. Dante lived in medieval times, and in Inferno we can clearly see where religious tensions in the culture affected his view of deception. Medieval themes spell out the need for reform of the Roman Catholic Church. A constant question that comes up in medieval texts is that of appearance versus reality/intention. At a time when integrity is so openly questioned, the tact, cunning and wit of the cunning and cunning Odysseus could no longer have any positive meaning. Moreover, such characteristics echo his concern for control over the world rather than his concern for the sacred. In support of this, the behavior of Ulysses and the speech given to his fellow men to attract them into the adventure with him: of our senses which remains, do not deny the Experience, following the sun, of the world without men. Consider your sowing; you were not made to liveLike brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge'" (Dante, Canto 26.112-119). A significant rotation of the ideas of virtue and knowledge occurs here. Odysseus's speech shows that he believes that virtue and knowledge are acquired through experience of the world Such a belief clearly indicates the dramatic difference between the worldviews of those of ancient times and those of medieval times. and knowledge were acquired through experience rather than thought. This is also seen in the Odyssey, when Athena cries that Odysseus was not there to teach Telemachus how to be a man, as if to be a man. consisted of knowing material and material things. Thus, in the Middle Ages, we move from respect for the experience of the world to disdain for worldliness Tennyson's inclined view of Odysseus marks a return to the knowledge acquired through the. he experience of the world. In Tennyson's “Ulysses,” Ulysses is a primarily heroic character in his ability to continue his quest for knowledge regardless of the misfortunes that befall him. This theme, in fact, closes the poem: "We are no longer that force which once moved the earth and the sky, what we are, we are - The same character. heroic hearts, made weak by time and destiny , but strong in the will to strive, to seek, to find, but not to yield” (Tennyson, “Ulysses,” lines 67-70). Again, it is obvious that Tennyson sees Odysseus' spirit. adventure quest if necessary. By Tennyson's time, under Queen Victoria, Britain had become the world's leading industrial power (Oxford Encyclopedia of World History 705). Industrialization is similar to Odysseus' quests in its more extravagant natural building technology. a non-agrarian economy - it is presumptuously at odds with the humble nature of Christianity and Dante's Christianity. As such, the conflict between the physical sciences themselves and the spirituality of Christianity was at odds, as it is today in many contexts. The medieval era revolved around spirituality and intellectual integrity, as shown by Dante and his excommunication. The Victorian era, like the time of the original Ulysses, required an experience of the world because of the physical reality that shaped its context. Virtue, in Tennyson's poetry, again focuses on the pursuit of knowledge. By gaining knowledge through experience and conflict, Odysseus transfers virtue back to human experience, marking a shift in a person's worth as measured externally (e.g., by God in medieval times) to an internally measured value, the knowledge acquired through physical experience. Such themes suggest that the only path to knowledge is through experience. The emphasis then shifts from the success of the whole to the success of the individual, as we also see in Greek literature. If knowledge is based on experience, an individual can acquire knowledge, but because he has acquired it through his own experience, he is unable to translate that knowledge into a pure form. One must believe in such a theory for industrialization to be sustainable. Odysseus says in Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” “I cannot rest from the journey; I will drink/Life to the lees. All the moments I have enjoyed/Greatly, I have suffered greatly” (“Ulysses” lines 7-10). Odysseus' language and preference for experience has permeated culture since industrialization. Curiously, Tennyson fails to mention Odysseus' questionable characteristics. Using Odysseus as narrator, Tennyson's attitude towards him is unclear. With the exception of endurance,, 1998.