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By all means, I think Tennyson is a wonderful writer and this poem is absolutely gorgeous, but it contradicts a bit with the original story. Having read the original epic, I have to say that Tennyson’s argument for having Odysseus leave Ithaca for a second time is pretty weak. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus's perseverance is driven purely by his desire to return home, not by adventurous spirit. Even after living with Calypso for ten years, Odysseus admits, "each day I long for home," and no matter what trial the gods put before him, his "tough heart can undergo it." In Tennyson’s poem, however, a different purpose seems to drive Odysseus.
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