Question

Read the excerpt from "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Select four sets of lines in the poem that reflect the Victorian theme of seeking new adventures despite obstacles. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, 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. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are-- One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Answer 1

Answer: Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows;

for my purpose To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die.

One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Explanation:

In the first line the author exhorts his friends to search a new world.

Ulysses exhorts his sailors to set sail; the phrase "smite / the sounding furrows" compares the act of rowing to beating or striking something; beating something that makes a sound is here a metaphor for rowing. ... "Beyond the sunset" is a metaphor.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Ulysses yet again tells us that even though he and his sailors are not young and don't have a lot of stamina, there's enough left to go for a while. "Abides" is a word that means "remains."