Retirement vs. Strife in Old Age Essay

A man that spends many years in active service be it for himself or for a more majestic reason such as his country or people, would more surely than not find retirement a disorienting prospect erst he faces it. Retirement means stopping whatever has kept angiotensin converting enzyme alive and working for most(prenominal) of his healthy years. It means realigning his goals, getting employ to other, more leisurely and less strenuous habits as befitting doddery age, and preparing to face death with peace and resignation.In Lord Alfred Tennysons verse form Ulysses, the mythical hero of Homers epics expresses his anxiety about attack back home to Ithaca to reclaim his ancient responsibilities as king after years of traveling overseas and fighting the Trojan war, and his desire of set about a new adventure, instead. The poem begins with Ulysses dreading his return to resume the job of an unemployed king (Tennyson 1). He could not imagine the relevance of staying home with an gray wife (Tennyson 3) and to mete and dole (Tennyson 4) rewards or punishments to the people he governsmost of whom he does not know nor they of him but for his position as king.Ulysses does not like his former animateness of idleness and monotony even if it was a bearing of comfort and wealth. He prefers to travel and seek for adventures, testing vitality to its limits. For Ulysses, traveling means enjoying and suffering unpredictable moments. The sea and foreign lands, unalike a kingdom, presents varied and new experiences. Those that he had experienced so out-of-the-way(prenominal) have given him a hungry heart (Tennyson 12). His voyages have brought him to queer places, allowed him to interact with different peoples, customs and cultures, and meet creatures unimaginable if unmatchable evidently stayed in whiz place all his life.Moreover, he has experienced the sot delight (Tennyson 16) of war in Troy. Nothing in his kingdom could friction match the things he did and w itnessed. All that Ulysses saw and did made him what he has become and has produced a kind of restlessness or thirst upon his soul that bathroomnot now be satiated by ruling a kingdom. This past life as king has become dull in comparison to his life as a voyager and soldier. According to him, a person who is contented with his present life is like rusting and acknowledging that the only purpose of life is to breathe.Ulysses wants to follow familiarity like a sinking star/ Beyond the utmost throttle of human thought (Tennyson 31-32). He would like to keep exploring and test the boundaries of the capacities of an habitual mortal, even one who is already old and less agile. He believes that ones age is not a factor to consider because old age hath yet his honor and his toil (Tennyson 50). Only death can stop and end the possibilities that life has to offer. In the end, Ulysses appoints his son, Telemachus, to take his place as king, leaving him the scepter and the isle (Tennyson 34 ).Meanwhile, he prep ares to embark on another(prenominal) journey. The speakers exhortations to his former companions in the final stanza may substantially(p) be read as words that any man should well take heed as a personal advice, especially those who are contemplating a sedentary retirement in their senior years. The lines encourage everyone to not worry about the physical limitations that old age imposes upon every exclusive because the weakness of the body can easily be overcome when one is strong in will (Tennyson 69). This is also how a heroic life is lived.