Commentary Par XXVII 83

Ulysses reappears once more.  Again he figures a voyage quite different from Dante's, a voyage to destruction.  Those who attempt to read the central character of Inferno XXVI as positive here must deal with Dante's firm rejection of the hero, which surely makes it even more difficult to heroicize him than did the ironic treatment offered in the earlier episode.  See, in a similar vein, Picone (Pico.2002.7), p. 430.  However, see Imbach (Imba.1996.1) for an essay, 'Ulysse, figure de philosophe' (pp. 215-45).  This rehashes the varied classical and medieval sources (pp. 215-29) and by and large tries to associate itself with the earlier Romantic reading of Fubini (Fubi.1966.1).