 For much of this poem 's history , readers viewed Ulysses as resolute and heroic , <unk> him for his determination " To strive , to seek , to find , and not to yield " . The view that Tennyson intended a heroic character is supported by his statements about the poem , and by the events in his life — the death of his closest friend — that prompted him to write it . In the twentieth century , some new interpretations of " Ulysses " highlighted potential <unk> in the poem . They argued , for example , that Ulysses wishes to <unk> abandon his kingdom and family , and they questioned more positive assessments of Ulysses ' character by demonstrating how he resembles flawed protagonists in earlier literature . 
