Tag Archives: Ulysses

Federer, Unlike Ulysses, a Family Man Hero

By Robin Bates | Published: July 13, 2017

Time and again with Roger Federer, thinking he is nearing his end, I have cited Tennyson’s “Ulysses.” He keeps proving me wrong. One reason may be because he has a different relationship with his family than Tennyson’s protagonist has.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Aging, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Roger Federer, tennis, Venus Williams | Comments closed

One Equal Temper of Heroic Hearts

By Robin Bates | Published: January 30, 2017

Federer and Nadal resumed their legendary rivalry in the Australian Open finals and played a match for the ages. They are both old in tennis terms and by all rights should have been surpassed by the next generation. Therefore Tennyson’s “Ulysses” seems the proper poem to acknowledge them.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Australian Open, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, tennis | Comments closed

If Trump Tweeted Classic Lit Reviews…

By Robin Bates | Published: March 17, 2016

Donald Trump has a very distinctive twitter style., one that would be great for classic book reviews. A BuzzFeed writer imagines how he might have reviewed “Hamlet,” “Tristram Shandy,” “Ulysses,” and other classics.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Albert Camus, Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, Hamlet, J. R. R. Tolkien, James Joyce, Lawrence Sterne, Lord of the Rings, Stranger, Sun Also Rises, Tristram Shandy, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Peyton: Old Age Hath Yet His Honor

By Robin Bates | Published: February 4, 2016

Two narratives clash on Super Bowl Sunday: the return of the king vs. the aging king that must be overthrown. Is Peyton Manning Odysseus and the Panthers the suitors? Or is he the dragon who must yield to the next generation?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Football, Homer, Odyssey, Peyton Manning, Sports, Super Bowl | Comments closed

Detecting the Person behind the Poetry

By Robin Bates | Published: June 18, 2015

What we find when we look for the person behind the literary work.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged authorial criticism, Charles Dickens, death of the author, Henry Fielding, intentional fallacy, James Joyce, Lucille Clifton, New Criticism, Roland Barthes, Structuralism, Tom Jones, Wimsatt and Beardsley | Comments closed

Portrait of the Lesbian as a Young Artist

By Robin Bates | Published: December 4, 2014

Proust and James Joyce were particularly important in helping Alison Bechdel negotiate her complex relations with her father.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged A. A. Milne, Alison Bechdel, Autobiography, Catcher in the Rye, Colette, Fun House, homosexuality, Importance of Being Earnest, J. D. Salinger, James and the Giant Peach, James Joyce, lesbianism, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Remembrance of Things Past, Roald Dahl, Winnie the Pooh | Comments closed

Strong in Will vs. Time & Fate

By Robin Bates | Published: July 19, 2014

Roger Feder, like Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” braved time and fate and came up just short.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged aging athletes, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Roger Federer, Sports, tennis, Wimbledon | Comments closed

Maybe the Gulfs Will Wash Us Down

By Robin Bates | Published: February 8, 2014

Peyton Manning was not Homer’s Odysseus but Tennyson’s Ulysses.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Football, Homer, NFL, Odyssey, Peyton Manning, Roger Federer, Sports | Comments closed

If They Lose, Irish Can Turn to Poetry

By Robin Bates | Published: January 5, 2013

Even if they lose the national championship game, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have Ireland’s poetic legacy to fall back on.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Easter 1916", "Irish Airman Foresees His Death", Alabama Crimson Tide, Dubliners, Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, Football, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, Modest Proposal, Sports, William Butler Yeats | Comments closed