S Candide Of The Enlightenment Era And Tennysons Ulysses...

The two works of literature, I will be connecting will be Voltaire’s Candide of the Enlightenment Era and Tennyson’s â€Å"Ulysses† of the Romantic Era. The connection I will convey will be the theme of mortality. In both works, we will see this theme being intertwined within the main idea. I will connect these two works of literature by; identifying mortality in both works of literature, using direct quotes, and giving a literary insight on how Voltaire and Tennyson used mortality to give a deeper meaning to the central idea of the work. Voltaire’s Candide is the story of the character of Candide who knows nothing other the castle he lives in. In the story, Candide leaves his castle and travels to Eldorado. Eldorado is a paradise; here†¦show more content†¦We see this when he says, â€Å"How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!† (Tennyson,644). In this line alone, we see the theme of mortality being conveyed. This line is saying how boring it is to sit still and rust and not be of any use. Ulysses is feeling the hurt of coming home and not being able to be on the seas. Ulysses understands that he doesn’t have much time left, and he’s not going to sit around to just die and rust away. Instead, he decides that he is going to leave and enjoy the rest of his life. Mortality comes up again when he is talking about traveling with the men back on the seas. Ulysses says, â€Å"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down. It maybe we shall touch th e Happy Isles†¦Though much is taken, much abides;† (Tennyson,645). Ulysses isn’t afraid of death here; he wants to be back on the seas. He realizes that even though he is older in age and might die if he goes back out, it’ll all be worth it. In Voltaire’s Candide mortality was conveyed in many parts of the story. In the story of Candide, death is a recurring theme. Mortality appears in the story of Candide when the writer writes, â€Å"he had to choose; by virtue of the divine gift called â€Å"liberty† he decided to run the gauntlet thirty-six times, and actually endured two floggings†¦ Candide, who could endure no more, begged as a special favor that they would have the goodness to smash his head† (Voltaire,103). In this line we see Candide