 Ulysses ' apparent disdain for those around him is another <unk> of the ironic perspective . He declares that he is " matched with an aged wife " ( 3 ) , indicates his weariness in governing a " savage race " ( 4 ) , and suggests his philosophical distance from his son Telemachus . A skeptical reading of the second paragraph finds it a condescending tribute to Telemachus and a rejection of his " slow prudence " ( 36 ) . However , the adjectives used to describe Telemachus — " blameless " , " discerning " , and " decent " — are words with positive connotations in other of Tennyson 's poetry and within the classical tradition , where " blameless " is an attribute of gods and heroes . 
