Poem about an older man sailing away for one final adventure?
May 9, 2013 4:59 AM Subscribe
My father used to quote a few lines from a poem that was about an older man (a king maybe?) sailing away for one final adventure. I thought I remembered a line about 'once more across the sundering seas', but when I search on that phrase all I find is stuff related to Tolkien. The poem would be the kind of thing a classically educated person would know, and I think it's pretty famous. Any of this ringing any bells for anyone?
Response by poster: Thank you so much Pallas Athena! There are tears in my eyes as I read this now.
posted by StephenF at 5:17 AM on May 9, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by StephenF at 5:17 AM on May 9, 2013 [4 favorites]
It's an amazing poem, isn't it? Which lines did your father quote?
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:25 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:25 AM on May 9, 2013
Response by poster: The end of it:
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Mov’d 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.
Thanks again :-)
posted by StephenF at 5:30 AM on May 9, 2013 [11 favorites]
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Mov’d 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.
Thanks again :-)
posted by StephenF at 5:30 AM on May 9, 2013 [11 favorites]
Although whether or not the poem's implications change when you look at Tennyson's source is an interesting question. (Ulysses begins speaking in the section marked 26.87; he's in Circle 8.)
posted by thomas j wise at 5:33 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by thomas j wise at 5:33 AM on May 9, 2013
Best answer: thomas j wise: it seems impossible to deny that the Inferno was Tennyson's model, but I've never actually seen it alluded to (not that I really read any Tennyson scholarship). Did he explicitly acknowledge the source anywhere?
StephenF: you may (or may not) be interested to know that the final line was also inscribed on the cross erected in Antarctica to the memory of Captain Scott and his polar team. Never a more apposite quotation. (The cross remains although it seems that the inscription is very faded.)
posted by pont at 6:00 AM on May 9, 2013
StephenF: you may (or may not) be interested to know that the final line was also inscribed on the cross erected in Antarctica to the memory of Captain Scott and his polar team. Never a more apposite quotation. (The cross remains although it seems that the inscription is very faded.)
posted by pont at 6:00 AM on May 9, 2013
I had to memorize that one in high school. It stays with you.
posted by vrakatar at 6:04 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by vrakatar at 6:04 AM on May 9, 2013
It features in a pivotal act 2 scene of Skyfall.
posted by Hugobaron at 6:43 AM on May 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Hugobaron at 6:43 AM on May 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
This poem is also used as the basis for a creepier poem (following Ulysses and crew down into a watery underworld) by William Ashbless in the rather amazing The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. Much fun with the Romantics, if you like that sort of thing.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:52 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:52 AM on May 9, 2013
I'll go with "remains."
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:57 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:57 AM on May 9, 2013
Yeah, it means remains. Related to abode, that is, your abode (place of residence) would be where you abide (live/remain/exist).
posted by Wretch729 at 9:09 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by Wretch729 at 9:09 AM on May 9, 2013
"I will drink life to the lees"!
Thank you for the reminder about this wonderful poem.
posted by apricot at 3:14 PM on May 9, 2013
Thank you for the reminder about this wonderful poem.
posted by apricot at 3:14 PM on May 9, 2013
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posted by Pallas Athena at 5:07 AM on May 9, 2013 [9 favorites]