Kincaid And Ulysses Comparison

Madi Lowe
January 6,2011
Draft 3

Focusing In To live a life unfulfilled would be to live it without risks. The poems Curiosity written by Alastair Reid and Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson both deal with the desire to live life to the fullest. The meaning of both poems is similar, they both speak of how adventurers experience life. Though they have similar meaning, one has a more formal form, while the other is more free form. Although both poems encourage taking risks and having a focused life, it is present in different ways. In Ulysses, Ulysses is speaking to his men about how it is important to live life at the fullest. After returning from his journey, he must return to ruling Ithica. He finds this immensely boring and wishes that he
was back having adventures and risking life and limb for honor. Living a risk-free life is, to him, like death. To stay in one place is worthless when one has fought at Troy and had countless other adventures. That is the kind of life Ulysses approves of. He says, “How dull it is to pause, to make an end./ To rust unburnished, not to shine in use.” (l. 23). For him, there is no other worth while life but adventuring. Ulysses believes that the only way to be remembered when one dies is to accumulate stories to be remembered by.
In the third stanza, Ulysses is speaking to his crew. Ulysses was the only one who made it through his journey alive, so when he speaks to his crew, its only in his imagination. While giving this monologue, he is on his death bed and he needs their support in his final voyage. The death imagery in this stanza is due to Ulysses’ current state of mind. He wants to join his men and: “To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths/ Of all the western starts, until I die/ It may be that the gulfs will wash us down; It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,/ And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.” (ll. 60-64). Even though he knows that death is an unavoidable. Death is a time to look back at life and think about what you accomplished; what mark was left. Ulysses and his crew, shove off to “seek a newer world“ (l. 57), because to him, it is through adventures and achievements that one earns in life that are remembered by after death. This is Ulysses last adventure. He knows he will not return alive, but the thought of dying does not scare him, it entices him, because he would rather die on an adventure that at his
home. Similarly, Curiosity also involves the same carpe-diem theme. It talks about how life is more fulfilling when one explores more experiences. In the poem, it shows the life style of two natural enemies: the dogs and the cats. The dogs are people who have similar characteristics to real dogs, such as, not being adventurous, not risking much, and staying fairly close to home. Cats, however couldn’t be more opposite. They are the risk-takers, they are inquisitive, and they try to live life fully before death so they can be satisfied with their life. The cats are people who live their life with no regrets, enjoying it while they can. “Only the curious/ have, if they live, a tale/ worth telling.” (ll. 24-26). The author reveals the irony that dogs who are so concerned and worried about dying who never accomplish anything in life. Because dogs live their life in constant fear of death, it constrains their life. Only because the cats make the risks are they satisfied when it is their turn to die. The cats are the people who will go down in history, whilst the dogs will be forgotten. The theme in Curiosity is to be present in life, and not let it pass you by. The speaker encourages risk taking because to cats, it is better to have tried and failed then to never tried at all. As people, everyone has to go through trials and tribulations, for instance, one that is very prevalent in our society: love. It is better to try love and succeed in it for a while even if both people get hurt. With the joy obtained from the happiness of love, you must be willing to take the pain if it doesn’t work out. “Well, they are lucky. Let them be/ nine-lived and contradictory,/ curious enough to change, prepared to pay./ The cat price, which is to die/ and die again and again,/ each time with no less pain.” (ll. 31-36). The cats are willing to fail and fail again and go through the pain of it, in hopes that they will be happy and that they will accomplish their goals. Curiosity disproves the old saying ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ by saying having no curiosity will be the cause of death. Although both poems are similar in many ways, they have their differences as well. They both encourage taking risks and having adventures. Ulysses and his ‘mariners’ are just like the cats in Curiosity where as his wife, Telemachas, and all of the other people who stay in Ithaca are dogs. In a nutshell they both poems want people to live life to the fullest, because the alternative gives only a false sense of satisfaction. However Ulysses focuses on death, and the glory of experiences and accomplishments. While that is touched on in Curiosity, that is not the focus. The focus there is to emphasis life, and doing what you can so you won’t have any regrets when your time comes. While the overlying message is similar, they have a different outlook and perspective on the topic. The manner in which Ulysses is written has a paramount effect on the theme. It is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. This shows that there is specific structure to the poem, but also shows that Ulysses is speaking in a mannerly way. There are some cases of enjambment in “Ulysses” this give the poem a more speech-like sense. There are three parts to the poem and they each address a different audience while remaining on the same topic. Tennyson masterfully uses the structure to convey the meaning on a deeper level. Curiosity has a structure that is very pertinent to its message. It is in free verse with no rhyme pattern. Just like the cats, the structure of the poem is very loose and free. This gives emphasis to how important it is to be free. The in the second stanza there is a section that is very short in comparison to the rest of the poem. This is to show a condensed meaning of the poem and its meaning. It very simply states all things important in a cat’s life. The structure aides to the meaning of the poem. Curiosity is very flowy and unstructured, this lend to the life style that the cats chose. Ulysses however, has a more stiff structure because, Ulysses is currently stuck in a routine that he dislikes. Ulysses cat like nature disagrees with his current dog like predicament. Both poems are about how one should experience their life. Ulysses encourages a life full of adventure so one can be remembered after life. Curiosity also encourages a curious and adventurous outlook on life. While they both encourage a life style of taking risks and living life to its fullest, they are different in the way they convey the message. Ulysses stark structure juxtaposes Curiosity’s flowing style. Both of the poems are very effective at encouraging a focused life in very unique ways.