Allusions in Robert Brownings poem:

Robert Browning ends his poem "My Last Duchess" with an allusion to Neptune, the Roman
god of the sea. Duke Ferrara, who speaks during this dramatic monologue, is giving a tour of
his home to the agent of a Count whose daughter he intends to make his next Duchess. The
poem begins with him showing the painting of the Last Duchess, presumably in an art gallery
section of his home. As they go downstairs, he points out the bronze statue of the Roman god,
which he commissioned from a fictitious sculptor named Claus of Innsbruck. Beginning and
ending the poem with the Duke showing off his artwork brings the poem full circle and
emphasizes his role as a Renaissance aristocratwealthy, pretentious, and arrogant.
The choice of "Neptune taming a seahorse" is interesting because it can easily be interpreted
as the relationship between the Duke and his last Duchess. The Duke views himself as a god.
However, for Neptune, the god of the sea and horses, to be taming a seahorse is ironic. A
seahorse is a small, inconsequential animal not capable of fighting back. In the same way, the
Duchess was powerless under the mighty hand of her husband, who tried to dominate her
slightest move, even the smiles she gave people. Just as it would not have been a truly
impressive feat for an immortal to hold sway over a harmless sea creature, so it should have
been beneath the Duke to dominate, abuse, and do away with his last Duchess.

Allusions in Alfred Lord Tennysons poem:

Ulysses is a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This poem tells about the determination
of life of the main figure, Ulysses, the king of Ithaca and the hero of the Trojan War. This
poem also emphasizes to the life of the author, Alfred Lord Tennyson during his hard time.
This poem represents both Ulysses and Tennyson as a man full of determination, who believe
that this still life must be fought out to the end for every man has his right to gain what is best
in his life. There are two problems to discuss in this thesis. The first is did the story of
Ulysses in Greek mythology has influence to the poem of Tennysons Ulysses? The second
one is why does Tennyson writes Ulysses? Furthermore, this thesis uses archetypal approach
and historical-biographical approach. The archetypal approach is uses to discover the
existence of underlying mythological patterns found in the poem since this poem tells about
Ulysses, one of greeks mythological figure. The historical-biographical approach is uses to
to study the life of Tennyson to support the analysis since this poem also concerns the poets
own personal journey, for it was composed in the first few weeks after Tennyson learned of
the death of his dear college friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. The analysis is done by
using Brogans theory; the theory of interpretation. There are five classifications of
interpretation. Those are intrinsic, intentional, referential, structural and semiotic, and readerresponse interpretation. This thesis uses Referential interpretation. It is also called mimetic
interpretation. It discovers the meaning of the poem with the assumption that its story is the
imitation, the embodiment and the representation of the worlds reality and human life. This
interpretation is recovered from the fact of history, biography, and social condition, also the
myth as the part of its culture. This interpretation views the particular question on how far a
literary work represents the real circumstance of the object. Therefore, it demands the readers
to understand not only the word and language of a literary work but also the real condition of
the object that happens in the past. The results of the analysis show that Tennyson uses
mythological elements as the model and the reference in his poem, Ulysses. Specifically,
these mythological elements appear as the structure of the poem. By knowing the structure of
the poem, the hidden meaning of each expression in the poem can be revealed since the plot
of the poem reflects the plot of the myths story. The analysis also shows the facts of the life
of the poet that have effects on the story of the poem. Tennyson writes Ulysses soon after the
shock of Hallams death. This life experience stimulates him in writing Ulysses. By returning
and drawing the figure of Ulysses in Greek mythology, he can send the significant meaning
of contra-productive problem between himself and Ulysses. Through his poem, Ulysses,
Tennyson shows that the poem, which was written under the sense of loss and that all had
gone by, gives its readers a feeling about the need of going forward and braving the struggle
of life. That this still life must be fought out to the end.

Allusions in Matthew Arnold's poem:

Throughout his poems, Arnold frequently alludes to figures of Greek and Roman mythology
in order to further his ideas. Here is a quick explanation of the stories he is alluding to.
Cadmus and Harmonia
Cadmus was a Phoenician prince and the founder of the city of Thebes. He carried off
Harmonia, the immortal goddess of harmony and concord, into marriage. Also in love,
Harmonia then accompanied Cadmus when he was forced to leave Thebes, and the two
successfully helped a group called the Encheleans wage a war against the Illyrians. But
because Cadmus had killed a sacred dragon in his former quest to protect Thebes, the gods
turned him into a serpent. Harmonia begged to be changed into one along with him, and her
wish was granted.
Bacchus
Bacchus was the Roman counterpart to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. He invented wine,
and spread the art of tending grapes, bringing joy and ecstasy to all who encountered him. He
was the only god with one mortal parent, as the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and Semele, a
mortal woman. The Bacchanalia were a group of his loyal followers; he and these followers
could never be tied up or fettered. Finally, Bacchus (and Dionysus) is often considered an
expression of man's purely emotional, visceral capability.
Apollo
Apollo was the Greek and Roman god of the sun and of music, and twin brother to Artemis
(Diana in Roman mythology). He was known for harnessing his regal chariot with four
horses, and for flying across the sky to move the sun. Apollo was the leader of the Muses, a
group of nine goddesses who served as inspiration for literature, poetry, and the arts. Finally,
Apollo is often considered an expression of man's intellectual capacity.
Sophocles
Sophocles is not exactly a mythological figure; he was a living playwright in ancient Greece
who composed some of the most famous plays about mythology. His most celebrated work
is Oedipus the King, which tells the story of the Theban man who unwittingly killed his
father and married his mother. Overall, this still-famous play explores the power of fate, a
theme quite resonant with Arnold.

The Fates

Though Arnold never specifically mentions the Fates by this term, he alludes to the goddesses
of destiny in "Consolation," and often talks about forces which control us. The Fates were
three goddesses of classical mythology who were entirely in control of destiny. They
controlled the metaphorical "thread of life" of every mortal from birth to death, and after
chose the manner of each person's death.