The Journey of Life and Immortality: A Comparative Study of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium”

Authors

  • Dr. Upendra Kumar Soni Assistant Professor Department of English Mahamaya Rajkiya Mahavidyalya, Shrawasti

Keywords:

Ulysses, Sailing to Byzantium, immortality, individual, perspective, symbolism

Abstract

This paper studies two famous poems: Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses” (1842) and W.B. Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium” (1928). Though written in different times, both poems deal with old age, the desire for meaning, and the human search for immortality. Tennyson presents Ulysses as a symbol of courage and adventure, while Yeats uses Byzantium as a symbol of art and eternal spirit. This comparative study shows how literature expresses universal human feelings across time and culture. Both poems explore aging, death, and immortality from different perspectives. Ulysses represents the individual’s resilience and traditional heroic spirit, while Yeats imagines timeless art through symbolism. Together, they reveal how poetry gives meaning to human struggles and the search for purpose in life’s final stage.

References

Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. G. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th ed., Cengage Learning, 2015.

Bloom, Harold, editor. W. B. Yeats. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.

Brooks, Cleanth. “Yeats’ ‘Sailing to Byzantium.’” Literary Theories in Praxis, edited by Shirley F. Staton, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987, pp. 17–24.

Ellmann, Richard. Yeats: The Man and the Masks. Faber and Faber, 1948.

Jump, John D. Tennyson: The Critical Heritage. Routledge, 1967.

Ricks, Christopher, editor. The Poems of Tennyson. 2nd ed., Longman, 1987.

Tennyson, Alfred Lord. “Ulysses.” The Poems of Tennyson, edited by Christopher Ricks, 2nd ed., Longman, 1987, pp. 583–586.

Yeats, W. B. “Sailing to Byzantium.” The Tower, Macmillan, 1928, pp. 193–194.

Yeats, W. B. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. 2nd ed., Macmillan, 1950.

Yeats, W. B. A Vision. Macmillan, 1937.

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Published

2026-03-15

How to Cite

Dr. Upendra Kumar Soni. (2026). The Journey of Life and Immortality: A Comparative Study of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium”. The Voice of Creative Research, 8(1), 219–222. Retrieved from https://www.thevoiceofcreativeresearch.com/index.php/vcr/article/view/277

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2026): January - March 2026

Section

Research Article

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