SYMBOL/THEME

Symbols play a huge part in a text's meaning. They can depict a scene, person, or object as innocent or tainted, and allow the reader to understand the author's true messages and feelings about a particular issue or object. As I stated in my last essay, To an Athlete Dying Young and Ulysses both utilize the symbol and theme of "Time" to describe how it ultimately destroys everything it crosses paths with;  “It withers quicker than the rose.” (Housman 12) The narrator's use of "withers" and "rose" in To an Athlete Dying Young describe his juxtaposing emotions and longing for the past. He uses lifeless words such as "withers" to depict the death of the athlete, and uses the passionate "rose" as a symbol for the athlete's once very precious and thriving life. This use of symbol, therefore , allows such a developed and detailed idea to be described in a simple and eloquent way. In addition, Ulysses by Tennyson discusses an old man's resentment towards Time. Odysseus, an old war hero, is frustrated and lonely; he feels as though he is worthless because his prime and glory days have passed him, and he is no longer the "macho man" he once was. He is now in a constant state of resentment towards Time because he feels as though it, alone, has ruined his life; " “The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs…” (Tennyson 55). The author uses words such as "long" and "slow" to clearly illustrate Odysseus' unhappiness and his unemotional outlook on life. In addition, when this line is read aloud, its assonance forces the reader to slow down the line, which, therefore, ultimately proves Odysseus' slowly-moving, unexciting life.